In the Shadow of Dragons
by Demon-Kagetsuki
Summary: When Refridís discovers a hidden room in the Arch-Mage's tower, she has little idea of what it will bring. The news of a dragon in Middle-Earth calls to her and she travels to the strange lands in order to join a band of dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard on a journey to take back their home. ..all while hiding her draconic friend and a curse that haunts her. (eventual OC/Kili)
1. The Call of a Quest

**Hello everyone! It's been years since this accounts been used so my writing might be a little dusty. I only recently have been able to watch the Hobbit movies due to being located in the middle of no where and have quickly been filling up on fics to pass the time until Battle of the Five Armies comes out, so I thought "What the hell" and decided to write my own. I'm very big on video games and Skyrim is the only one I can play because of my situation but let me tell you once the idea of this fic buried itself into my head I simply could not let it go.**

**All of the Hobbit characters and World belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**All Skyrim characters and World belong to Bethesda.**

**Refridís belongs to me.**

Refridís relaxed slightly in the chair of the Arch-Mage's Quarters in the College of Winterhold trying to work out the slight chill in her bones from her long trip from Riften after dealing with some trouble that had aroused from the Thieves Guild. She loved her members like family but they honestly could use a little more self control with their sticky fingers after she had to rescue three members from being loaded onto the execution cart.

The raven-haired Bosmer had stopped in the woods two days earlier to set up camp and hunt for her supper when an unusually large pack of wolves had attacked and spooked her horse enough that it had run from its owner rather than fight like the loyal creature usually did. As a result, Refridís had to trudge through the barren wasteland, not bothering to stop at Windhelm, and was unlucky enough to be caught in a blizzard just in the outskirts of the old battered village. She was not worried about her horse and she was certain that a messenger would soon arrive to tell her that Frost had arrived on his own at the foot of the college.

Refridís sighed and looked with reddish-black eyes towards the beautiful glowing center of the room which was quickly getting overgrown due to the lack of attention it was receiving from its owner.

_"At least I will be able to have all the ingredients I need for my experiments this month," _She thought to herself.

A quiet, hardly noticeable noise brought her attention to an area on the other side of the room. With a groan, she got up and walked towards its direction. When she arrived, she found that the noise was coming from under a worn carpet and swiftly pulled it off only to find a trap door.

_"Seems like old Savos still had some tricks up his sleeves," _Refridís thought, smiling sadly at the memory of the former Arch-Mage.

She quickly picked the lock that kept its contents hidden from any prying eyes and slowly opened the door just in case it was booby-trapped should an intruder get through the lock. When nothing happened she descended slowly into the hidden room and the noise got stronger. The room was unsurprisingly small, rectangular, and ivy crept along its walls. It was sparsely decorated with several filled bookshelves in the back and a desk with an empty inkwell and several quills along with about a dozen rolls of parchment. What really caught Refridís's attention, however, was the pristine white fountain located in the center of the room filled with smoking water that pulsed a faint calming blue accompanied by a slight chiming noise.

She approached cautiously, staring at it before carefully touching the surface of the water. The water rippled for a second before an image of an old man's face appeared.

_"_Savos Aren?"The old man with a long beard and a pointed grey hat questioned.

"No, I am sorry but the former Arch-Mage has been dead for many years and I now hold his place. May I help you?" She answered gently, hoping that the news of my mentor's death wouldn't cause too much grief.

"My condolences. The news is most troubling as I would have liked to ask him to repay a favor he owes me." He responded.

"Whatever debts or favors my mentor had, I am willing to help repay them. May I ask who you might be and what it is that you need?" Refridís asked.

"I am Gandalf the Grey, Wizard and one of the members of the Istari order. I did not so much need his skills as I am in need of his advice. Words have reached me from across your Padomaic Ocean that a dragon slayer of legendary proportion currently roams your continent. I would have asked him if he knew such a character and, if he was in good graces with said character, could pass them on the message that a dragon that goes by the name Smaug currently plagues the people of Middle-Earth." The man explained.

Refridís looked at the fountain with a slight frown, "I know of the Dovahkiin and all of their skill."

The old man smiled through the water, "Wonderful! Could you pass along my message to them? Also, it was very rude of me, I never asked for your name?"

"I am Refridís Silduaan and I am the dragon slayer which you seek." Refridís answered with a sly smile.

**Hopefully you guys enjoyed that little peek of what is to come, I'll try weekly updates but don't hold me to it. As always, reviews are very much welcomed and I enjoy feedback!**


	2. The Traveling Companion

_**Hello again! I am updating a little bit more of my story because I felt like the first chapter was a little short. This one is much longer and will finish up our time in Skyrim before Refridis sets off for Middle-Earth.**_

_**EDIT: Sorry for the messed up version, I have no clue what happened.**_

_**The Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridis belongs to me.**_

Refridis bade the kindly grey wizard farewell after he informed her of the location of Middle-Earth.

Gandalf had said that she would have to cross the Padomaic Ocean and no ship that she knew of had gone that far before and it wasn't likely that they ever would. In addition, such a journey would take time that they did not have and gold that could be saved for something much more worthwhile. Refridís thought through her options and came to a troubling conclusion. In order to make such a journey in a reasonable amount of time, she would need help of a very unlikely creature.

"I just hope he is in a good and traveling mood." She grumbled to herself.

Refridís took off her heavy traveling clothes, not even having had time to change to the appropriate attire of the Arch-mage, and contemplated on what sort of armor to bring with her.

"I would prefer to bring my Daedric armor if I am to face a dragon but that is bound to bring attention to myself." She muttered. Daedric armor was, in fact, a little bit flashy and she was not bound to make any allies when she looked like she had crawled out of the pits of Oblivion.

She rubbed the back of her neck before turning towards her hefty traveling pack. Her bag was specially enchanted to be able to fit all sorts of objects and the only setback was the strength she would need to carry them. As a result, she could fit multiple armors and weapons within and not be burdened with carrying them on her person. Remembering what she had inside and she facepalmed at her own stupidity. Whenever she traveled with the intent of completing something for the Thieves Guild she would always wear her Nightingale armor.

"Just what I needed," Refridís said with a smile, "if I am planning to travel as far as this wizard said I would be, it would be better to travel light and I am sure plenty of stealth will be needed if we are to catch this dragon by surprise".

Her decision made, she quickly got dressed in the armor and packed some simple provisions along with lots of dried meat. She emptied out her bag of all items and carefully picked through them, only grabbing what was absolutely essential knowing that if she was going to a strange place, she would need the room to store any items that caught her interest.

While she would not bring her Daedric armor, she was certainly not going to leave her Daedric Bow of Storms and arrows behind. She was a master at markmanship and the thought of leaving behind her best weapon was unthinkable. Along with her enchanted bow, she grabbed her two enchanted Daedric swords, Vampire and Inferno. She was much less comfortable with the swords, her Bosmer blood allowing her to handle bows easier than heavy metal but she was still a force to be reckoned with at close range.

Refridís walked around the room, grabbing other things she might need during her journey. Plenty of ingredients for helpful potions and deadly poisons, filled soul gems to recharge her enchanted weapons, a Snow Bear fur that would keep her warm even on the coldest nights, her Nightingale cloak blessed by Nocturnal with invisibility after her many years of service, a pair of twin Daedric daggers that she hid in her boots, a pouch heavy with coin, and her journal which contained an unparalleled amount of knowledge of the many dragons she had faced during her time.

She took a final look around the tower before she went through the doors and exited the college.

It was a little past midnight and the blizzard had finally let up and allowed her to see her steps as she walked along the crumbling walkway that led to the college. She was not surprised to see her horse waiting for her. This Frost was a descendent of the one she had… borrowed… years ago and had served her well.

"I have one last ride with you before I am to be gone for a long time, alright?" she whispered to her horse, gently stroking his face, moving his blond mane in order to look at his eyes.

The sturdy horse nickered back at her, enjoying the way she rubbed the star that rested between his eyes. She put her feet through the saddle's stirrups and hoisted herself on top of him and gave him a gentle kick that caused him to start walking out of the sleepy village.

The sparse forests provided little cover as Refridís rode Frost towards their destination. Small bushes of snowberries poked through, their crimson red the only color against the black and whites of her surroundings. Refridís guided her horse into a hidden passage that would bring them through the rocks and ended on the rocky beach that faced the Sea of Ghosts. She got off her horse and whispered in his ear, "Go to Whiterun, I will attach a message to make sure they take care of you. You will be much happier in the grassy plains than in the icy wastelands waiting for my return".

Frost snorted at her before bumping her arm, she stroked him and then started to walk away. She heard him neigh before galloping away towards the south.

Refridis looked towards the sea and thought about the journey ahead before turning parallel to the foaming waters and taking a deep breath and shouting into the sky.

"_**ODAHVIING!"**_

She waited a few minutes before an answering roar filled the skies. She squinted her eyes, trying to spot her companion in the thick clouds. He suddenly dived down through the heavy covering and landing gracefully. The great red Dovah stood proudly in front of her, his scales shining like rubies and his wings the color of silver.

_**"Drem yol lok Dovahkiin. Aal Zu'u laan fahvos hi bel zey fod iilah tul rek lok?" **_The mighty Dovah questioned, his voice deep and baritone.

"Drem yol lok Odahviing. I have summoned you at this time because I ask for your aid on a journey I must take." Refridís responded, hoping that while the Dovah might have promised to serve her during his lifetime, that he will do so if he wishes.

"_**Oo? And where will this wundaak take us?" **_Odahviing asked.

"Across the Pandomaic Ocean, to a land called Middle-Earth. It is a far journey and I would not have asked of such a favor should I be able to arrive there in a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, both you and I know that there is no one who would be willing to risk such a journey." Refridís answered.

_**"Vrah. It will be a long journey but it has been quite a while since I, Gelingrah dii viing ko lingrah bod, stretched my wings with a long flight."**_

Refridís smiled, ecstatic that her long time Dovah companion was willing to make the journey, "How long will it take you to be prepared for the journey?"

_**"Ziin omaar, two hours, wah gejahrii dii skerah."**_Odahviing responded.

"I will be waiting for you here." Refridís said as she sat down in a sheltered area of the cliff face.

With that, Odahviing took off from the ground with a mighty flap of his wings and flew into the forested areas where prey was to be found. Refridís followed him with her eyes until he was out of sight.

In the silence following the conversation and after facing Alduin's old second-in-command, her greatest ally, she thought about the many things she lived to see. The loss of all her memory before she was 245 years old, almost being executed, the Civil War which was a fading memory to many who lived in Skyrim, the rise and fall of emperors and jarls through the ages, Dawnguard, the Miraak Event. The one that truly stuck with her through the centuries was The Dragon Crisis and the amount of dragons she had slain only to be replaced with more, and the echoing voice of Alduin as he cursed her before his death.

_**"Aal hi neh siiv drem ful lingrah ol dov lahney!"**_

__Refridís shuddered at the memory and how she had not understood what Alduin had truly cursed her with until she had faced death only to be brought back by the very things she hunted. The dragon souls that she had devoured and stored had the ability to bring her back from the brink of death, against her own will and as young as when she had first faced the dreaded World Devourer. Nothing she had done had helped her rid the curse. Not poison which she had taken herself in a desperate attempt at death, not the blades of thousands that faced her thinking her young and fragile, not impatient Daedric Princes who came to collect their payment, not disease, not the freezing or boiling breaths of Dovahs, and not even old age. She refused to get involved romantically after seeing her lover grow old and die without her being able to follow. She didn't even have descendants to remember him by as she discovered that she could not bear any children.

With this dreaded immortality, she threw herself into research. Capable of multiple lifetimes, Refridís gained an unparallel amount of knowledge and wisdom. She was the very capable Arch-mage of the old Mages College; able to explore entire Nordic barrows and Dwemer ruins without once being detected; open even the most difficult of locks; smith some of the best quality armor and weapons which she sold to a large profit with her ability to talk people into doing almost anything; and was probably the best marksman in Tamriel.

It was only during these decades of research that she had discovered a lead that brought with it a shred of hope. She had spent years deciphering and translating the text of Dovah into something that was understandable. She could now easily speak Dovahzul as if she was taking a breath of air though the grating growls and roars of the speech would often leave her with a sore throat so she did not do it often. She had however, with this knowledge, found out what Alduin had said at that fateful encounter.

"_**May you never find peace so long as dragonkind live!"**_

That meant there was a way to get out of his curse, a loophole. To kill all Dovah and to devour their souls. While she cursed that the souls kept her alive with every dovah she killed, she knew that she would be that much closer to finding peace. Her only regret would be that she would have to kill even the Dovah who she had grown to befriend. When she told her discovery to Odahviing one quiet night at the Throat of the World, her only companion capable of living with her lifetimes, he had been silent for a moment only to say that he would gladly give his life when the time came as he had enjoyed the welcoming embrace of death before being brought back. She had yet to tell Paarthurnax, her Dovah mentor who was essential in the downfall of Alduin, as he had taken a small troop of free dragons and traveled to somewhere hidden in the world. Somewhere she would have to find and slaughter the rescued.

She sighed, quickly shaking the thoughts from her head. She was being selfish and she knew it but she had to find her peace or she would surely go insane and turn into the same Dovahkiin that threatened the existence of the world so many ages ago in Solstheim. She had more important things to focus on as Odahviing came into sight.

"Ready?" She asked him.

_**"Nuk."**_

__"I wish to visit some places before we depart for our quest."

_**"Very well."**_

**Meanings:**

**Odahviing: Winged Snow Hunter, ally of Refridís and ex-right-hand dragon of Alduin**

_**Drem yol lok Dovahkiin. Aal Zu'u laan fahvos hi bel zey fod iilah tul rek lok: Greetings Dragonborn. May I ask why you summon me when the moon still dominates the sky?**_

_**Drem yol lok Odahving: Greetings Odahving.**_

_**Wundaak: Journey**_

_**Vrah: Indeed**_

_**Gelingrah dii viing ko lingrah bod: stretched my wings with a long flight**_

_**Ziin omaar wah gejahrii dii skerah: Two hours to fill my stomach**_

_**Nuk: Ready**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are always welcomed! **_


	3. Arrival to Middle-Earth

_**I think I am going to change the update times to whenever a chapter is completed because honestly I am so full of ideas that I can't help but write them down. I will probably switch to weekly updates when college starts however in two weeks. Hope you enjoy this chapter in the mean time~**_

_**Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridis belongs to me.**_

_**Thank you all for waiting for this next chapter! Hope you enjoy it~**_

_**Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridís belongs to me.**_

* * *

Odahviing's flight was silent as he entered through one of the massive holes in the ceiling of Eldergleam Sanctuary. It was daytime and sunlight was gently filtering in covering everything in the sanctuary with a warm and peaceful glow and the Eldergleam tree stood tall and mighty with no signs that its bark had ever been damaged so many years ago. This place had remained untouched for many years as its entrance was destroyed by a rockfall after a particularly strong thunderstorm and the only way to enter the area was through the roof. It was in this place that Refridís got off of Odahviing and walked to a blossoming tree next to a clear pool. Many of the spriggins who had made the sanctuary their home only gave her and the dragon a passing glance as they were used to their presence while some others quickly came up to the dragon to tell him what had happen since his leaving. The dragon was quite fond of the peaceful sanctuary and had made it his home, abandoning the perch at the Throat of the World after all the dragons left. He had once told her that his reason for leaving the remote place at the top of the mountain was because it had been a bit to chilly for a firebreather but Refridís knew better. Dovah were solitary creatures by nature and the old smell of other dragons, especially one that had lived there so long had made her friend uncomfortable.

Refridís kneeled down under the tree to look at an old stone made of black marble that had worn down with age and weather and silently grabbed a chisel and hammer that was hidden beneath an bush. She slowly and carefully outlined the writing that was barely visible in the stone.

_Here lies Faendal, skilled marksman, slayer of dragons, and loving husband to Refridís Silduaan. May Auri-El and Y'ffre watch over him as he sleeps._

Refridís gently rubbed her eyes, wiping away any tears that threatened to spill over her face. His death had been a peaceful one, one of sleep and he had lived considerably longer than many Bosmer due to his relations with her. Even if he had passed on so long ago, it still felt as if an arrow was buried in her still pumping heart.

"I will be gone for a while my love and no idea when I will be back. Rest assured that this place will be the first that I will visit upon my return," She said while gently stroking the tombstone.

She took out several colored mountain flowers from her ingredients pouch and placed them in front of the stone, whispering a quick spell which would prevent them from drying out or rotting. With that, she rose to her feet and walked towards Odahviing who was waiting patiently for her reclined under the shade of some trees while he watched the spriggins dance in the sunlight.

"We will head for Solstheim in order to pick up some more supplies that we may need and then fly to the eastern-most Telvanni Island in order to rest and prepare before we fly across the ocean if that is alright with you." Refridís said as she climbed onto the leather saddle that she had placed between two of his neck spines, much to the discontent of said Dovah at being ridden like a horse, but it was a necessity due to the long journey.

Odahviing gave an approving rumble as he took off in the clearing at the center of the sanctuary and flew into the warm afternoon air.

They had arrived in Solstheim when night had already fallen and Refridís entered her Raven Rock home to grab some more ingredients, a lute that was given to her by the Bard's College as a gift for supporting them as a patron of their art, and a few books in order to entertain her on what was most likely going to be a long journey. After their quick stop, Refridís and Odahviing left on an uneventful journey to the Telvanni Islands and spent the following night sleeping in a cliff-side cave facing the ocean.

As the sun rose that morning, she had a quick breakfast of dried deer jerky while Odahviing helped himself to some of the animal residents of the sparse woodlands. Upon his return, she asked if he really wanted to go.

_**"Mal ilit, do you not think that if I have come this far from hofkiin, I would not follow you through till the end? Nid, Zu'u bo." **_He said with an air of finality.

Refridís smiled at the name he had called her before she placed the saddle upon his neck. Odahviing let out a loud roar marking the beginning of their ocean journey before leaping off the cliff and catching a thermal in order to lift himself into the sky with little effort.

* * *

As they traveled, they spoke of the past and what they would expect to get out of this journey. Odahviing would sometimes fly close to the water's surface in order to catch some unsuspecting prey, one time even catching a whale calf. It would be nearly a week of flying, with their only rest being a small island outcrop, before they caught the first traces of the mainland.

"Before we land, I think that it goes without saying that you should stay out of view. The people of Skyrim may be used to seeing Dovah flying in the sky but I do not think that this would be the case and knowledge of who I am is scarcely known outside of Skyrim except for legends and exaggerations." Refridís said, cutting the silence that had fallen around them as they approached quickly.

"_**Vrah, I agree. Best that we stay in the clouds until we find a more remote area to rest and travel only by night,"**_ Odahviing responded, _**"I believe that I see a faint mountain range in the distance."**_

"That will be where we will rest until I have to meet with the wizard at this Shire. Hopefully there will be a town of some sort nearby that I may buy a map. I hate travelling through unknown lands without an idea of where things are." She grumbled back, rolling her shoulders slightly in order to release some tension in her back.

Their flight continued with Odahviing rising into some low clouds. Refridís muttered thanks to the Divines for the weather as they descended into the fog- wrapped mountains.

They found a long abandoned cave to rest in just as a storm started to pass over them. Refridís took off her cloak and walked on the floor a little bit shakily as she tried to get feelings back into her legs and stretched her arms, bones cracking until every part of her body was relaxed. Odahviing shook his mighty head in order to get rid of some rain that had caught him and he stretched out like a cat in order to release some tension as well. Refridís quietly started a fire in order to warm up as her companion laid down in order to catch up on some much needed rest. Odahviing was a young and strong by Dovah standards but even he had his limit.

Refridís was about to put a small pot of water to boil for a simple stew when she heard some rocks clatter followed quickly by a gasp. She was immediately on her feet pointing an arrow at the intruder, a man of short stature, black hair and sparse beard who was staring at her with arms held up as if calming a wild animal and a slight smile.

"Are you friend or foe?" She asked him quickly, thanking the divines that she still had the Nightingale helmet on her head as she did not want to be recognized in the future by this man.

It seemed like the man was about to answer before he spotted Odahviing stirring at Refridís's words. His eyes immediately widened in fear and his breath seemed to have disappeared before he ran out of the cave.

"DRAAF! Gaav vok Odahviing! Mu kent lif nu!" Refridís yelled at her companion who was now fully awake and already heading towards the entrance.

She quickly gathered her belongings before running after the dragon.

"_**Dreh mu frolok fah mok?" **_Odahviing asked as she looked around for the creature that had disturbed them.

"No, we must simply move someplace more secluded," Refridís responded loudly over the pouring rain.

With that both Dovah and Bosmer flew into the mist.

* * *

_**Kili POV**_

Kilí had been out training outside with his bow when had heard a twig snap a little ways from him. He looked at that direction for several minutes before shrugging it off and aiming for his target. His arrow flew far to the left of his target as he was tackled by his older brother.

After a quick scuffle, Kilí ended up with his face on the cool rock floor with Filí sitting on top of him and hold his arms against his back in such a way that Kilí could not throw him off.

"You should be more aware next time! Uncle has allowed us to come along with him because he thought we could handle ourselves yet here you are flopping on the floor like a fish!" Filí said, his tone filled mischief as he held down his younger brother.

"Get off me you fat oaf!" Kilí responded struggling against his brother's hold.

The pressure on his back was immediately taken off as Filí rose up and held a hand out to help his brother up.

"Your words! They pain me more than any wound that I could ever received!" Filí said, his eyes filled with mock hurt before they became slightly serious as he lifted his brother, "But honestly brother, you must be more careful. Had that been a true sneak attack you would be dead. Thorin only barely allowed us on this quest and should he see any sign that we cannot handle ourselves he will send us back home."

"Yes I understand that but that was no reason to attack me! Now I need to go out into the fog in order to retrieve my arrow." Kilí responded with a huff before walking away from Filí.

Filí just shook his head good-naturedly before yelling at his brother as he left the clearing, "Be back soon! I think it's going to rain and I'd rather be in someplace sheltered than out in the open!"

Kilí wandered in the general direction of where the arrow was shot when the first drops began to fall on the Blue Mountains only to quickly become a complete downpour. He forgot all about the arrow that was never going to be found and started to look for shelter, cursing the weather and hoping that it would pass quickly. He saw a faint glow coming from a cave up ahead and cautiously approached it wondering who in the world would be this far away from civilization. It was a good two days walk to reach the entrance to the dwarven city of Ered Luin and this traveler was far off the path normally taken.

He entered the cave quietly and peeked around the corner he was hiding behind to see a figure clad in strange armor that was black as night and seemed to shimmer whenever a shadow fell upon it. Their mouth and nose was covered by a piece of armor while the upper part was hidden in the shadow provided by their hood. He attempted to get a closer look when his foot accidently bumped into some loose pebbles.

The stranger immediately sprang into action as their bow was grabbed from its resting place of a nearby rock and within a second, an arrow was pointed at him. Kilí noticed that the arrow seemed to glow a very faint purple and would spot something that look like lightning run across the surface of the arrowhead.

Knowing better, Kilí raised his hands to show that he was not a threat and gave a smile.

"Friend or foe?" a feminine voice asked him, her words muffled slightly by the mouth piece and containing a strange accent.

Kilí was about to answer friend when out of the corner of his eye he saw something start moving behind the woman. He felt like he had been punched in the gut as all the air left him and the head of a massive red creature raised itself. His mind came to a screeching halt as one thought instantly took over his entire being.

_Dragon._

This was the creature who had been responsible for chasing the dwarves out of their homeland and the reason for his upcoming quest. He remembered his uncle's stories about the massive red beast and the terrible destruction that came out of its mouth. He swallowed drily and quickly flicked his eyes towards the woman who kept her bow raised, unaware of the danger that lurked behind her.

Kilí did the only thing that he could think of. He ran.

He ran out of the cave as fast as possible and hid behind a rocky outcropping. He had no doubt in his mind that the dragon would follow him and attempt to eat him. What he was not prepared for however was a worried shout and a rumbling that sounded like thunder. Within moments, the dragon ran out of the cave with the strange woman running behind it before leaping onto its neck. The mist swirled around her, giving her a much more ominous look and her hood had slipped a bit. Kilí could see her dark red eyes as she scanned the landscape looking for him.

The dragon spoke in a strange language before the woman said, "No, we must simply move someplace more secluded."

With that, the two took off into the pouring rain and fog as Kilí attempted to calm his pounding heart and think about what he just saw.

He had to go warn his brother.

* * *

_**Meanings:**_

_**Refridís: **_Made up of the two ancient norse words; Refr- meaning fox and idis/dis- meaning lady/maiden. Disír in norse mythology was a ghost, spirit, or deity associated with fate who can be both kind or cruel towards mortals.

_**Mal ilit, do you not think that if I have come this far from hofkiin, I would not follow you through till the end? Nid, Zu'u bo.: **_Little fox, do you not think that if I have come this far from home, I would not follow you through till the end? No, I go with you.

_**Vrah: **_Yes

**DRAAF! Gaav vok Odahviing! Mu kent lif nu!: **Shit! Get up Odahviing! We must leave immediately!

_**Dreh mu frolok fah mok?- **_Do we look for him?

* * *

_**Hopefully that wasn't too out of character and if it was I'm sorry as this is my first time writing from a perspective that is not of my OCs. Next chapter we will begin following the plot of the movie/book!**_

_**I chose Faendal as Refridis's husband as he is the only follower I have not found annoying and who I have had since I first started the game when it came out. Shame you can't marry elves in game even if they are of the same race.**_

_**As always reviews and helpful criticism is welcomed. I would like to thank Wertheren, Guest, and Victor for their support along with all of those who followed the story. I am very greatful!**_


	4. Meeting Place Madness

_**Thank you all for your kind reviews and the many Follows/Favorites! You don't know how happy it makes me~ **_

_**I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out on Monday so I have had time to write this as I lay here looking like a chipmunk, in agony waiting for my pain meds to kick in. To answer some questions: **_

_**After being informed by the lovely Wertheren, I found that you can in fact get married to Dark Elves but not to any other species of elf unless you have a mod installed (and seeing as I have a PS3, I cannot unfortunately). In addition, the topic of Serana as an immortal companion came up in a PM and I can assure that the reasoning behind her not appearing will come up. ;)**_

_**To DecrepitSoul: Thank you for your review! And yes, you will see that next time Kíli and Refridís meet there will definitely be some issues!**_

_**To Mr Review: Here you go! :D**_

_**The Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridís belongs to me!**_

* * *

_**Kíli POV**_

Kíli ran as fast as his legs were able to carry him, slipping on the wet stones and skidding whenever he took a turn which resulted in several small cuts on his palms and a small rip on his pants where his knee had collided with a sharp stone. He would often look over his shoulder to make sure that neither the dragon nor the strange woman had spotted him as he tried to find the main path.

Even though Kíli was born and raised on these mountains, it still took him a good five minutes to find the path as the mixture of fog and rain made it difficult to see ten feet in front of him but when he reached it, his paced nearly doubled as obstacles were few and far in between.

Fíli was nowhere to be found when Kíli arrived at the clearing where he had been practicing his archery and for a moment his heart stopped as he thought about what things could have happened between his encounter and reaching the area.

"_Maybe the dragon found this clearing. Maybe he found Fíli." _Kíli thought, his stomach feeling like it was turning into a ball of ice.

Those thoughts were quickly dashed as he heard his brother's voice and saw a familiar shock of braided blond hair taking shelter in a small space that had eroded out of the mountain. He let out a breath of relief before sprinting towards the opening.

When Kíli arrived, he took several gulps of air as he tried to calm his breathing and collapsed on the floor, his legs giving up on him after the unexpected run. Fíli looked at him with concern as he was sharpening and polishing his twin daggers, already having started a fire that was crackling happily despite the terrible weather just a few steps away.

"Brother are you alright? What happened?" Fíli asked, worried about the condition his brother had arrived in.

Kíli tried to respond, but all that came out were wheezes as he still hadn't caught his breath.

"Easy Kee, take your time! I am not going anywhere." Fíli said as he gently rubbed circles on his brother's back, trying to help him relax.

"Fee… Fee we have- have to get out of here!" Kíli shouted once his lungs didn't feel like they were on fire anymore.

Fíli looked bewildered at his brother's statement and the fact that he wanted both of them to walk out into the storm that had attacked the mountain with a vengeance. "And why would that be?"

"While I was looking for my arrow and it started raining, I saw a light come out of one of the nearby caves. I went to see what it was and saw a woman there but that wasn't all. Fee... there was a dragon with her." Kíli said, taking a second to look out of their temporary shelter to make sure that said creature wasn't outside listening to their conversation.

Fíli narrowed his eyes before asking, "Not that I don't believe you Kíli, but are you sure it was a dragon and not some other creature?"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAW!" Kíli snapped back before realizing that it was his older brother he was talking to and continued in a lowered voice, "The creature matched Uncle's description almost exactly except this one had silver wings instead of red ones."

"You don't think that it could be another dragon?" Fíli anxiously asked before looking at Kíli in confusion, "Wait you told me there was a woman? What happened to her?"

"That was the strange thing Fee… after I spotted the dragon and ran, I was expecting her to run as well but the last time I saw both of them, she had jumped onto the dragon's back and was riding it out into the mist. I… I think she was talking to it too!" Kíli answered his brother.

"What?! A person crazy enough to ride a dragon? You don't think they are headed to Ered Luin do you? We have to warn our families!" Fíli said while standing up, realizing what this might mean for the futures of the people of the Blue Mountains.

"I don't think so. They took off the opposite direction of the city last time I checked and it didn't seem like they were too keen in seeing other people, much less stealing or killing them," Kíli responded with a shaky breath.

Both of the Durin Princes were silent as they thought of how to solve the dilemma. On one side, if they headed back towards Ered Luin to give them warning, they wouldn't make the meeting with Thorin and miss out on the quest to retake their homeland and slay Smaug. On the other, not giving them warning could mean a potentially devastating dragon attack on their people.

Fíli gave a soft sight before speaking, "Even if we started heading back now, how would we know if we would make it on time before the dragon attacked? For all we know, it could be there right now. In addition, our home is guarded by a much smaller army of dwarves than the one that was protecting Erebor and we still lost. What good will two extra dwarves do other than being added to the pile of the dead?"

"Our mother and friends are there…" Kíli whispered staring out into the rain.

"When we reach the next town, I will send a message to Ered Luin with a warning and a request for a message to be sent to our meeting place so that we might be able to rest our minds for our journey. In the meantime, you should put your clothes close to the fire to dry, you are miserable to travel with when you are sick," Fíli said with a small smile as he sat back down next to his brother who was still soaked from his journey outside.

That night, neither of them got much sleep.

* * *

_**Refridís POV**_

Refridís was very worried as she flew away from the cave. Not even a full day had passed since her arrival and already someone had seen Odahviing. She didn't know much about this land and therefore didn't know how fast the news was spread. Back in Skyrim, it seemed that many of the people had found out about recent events almost as quickly as they happened.

The rain bounced off of Odahviing's scales as he gave a slight rumble before asking, _**"Mal ilit, los hi beck?"**_

Refridís snapped out of her thoughts and responded, "Yes I am alright, but I am concerned for our safety in this place. That man has seen me in my armor and has also seen you. I count myself fortunate that he did not see my face. It seems as if I will have to buy some normal traveling clothes as well as a map due to the fact that the Nightingale armor is very recognizable."

"_**You do not think that we will see him again do you? Our oblaan is very far away from this place," **_the mighty Dovah reasoned as he landed on a very rocky crag that was inaccessible except for those gifted with the power of flight.

From the crag, Refridís was able to see a dark river snaking its way through the hills before emptying into a large body of water. As she concentrated her eyes a bit more, she was barely able to spot some lights from the river's bank, a sign of civilization of some sort.

"Perhaps not, but I would rather be safe than sorry," Refridís mumbled tiredly as she rubbed her eyes. "We really need to figure out a way for you to travel with me and this company without you being seen again. I would like to have you close by in case an emergency happens and I do not want you waiting for me in strange lands that we have little idea of."

"_**I can hear you even if you do not use your Thu'um, Mal ilit. Sumah dii for I will be able to know your location and find a safe place to hide that is out of sight." **_Odahviing said, grumbling at the prospect of hiding like a fearful hatchling.

Refridís gave a slight smile as she shed her armor and folded it carefully before placing it neatly in her bag. She was left with a thin tundra cotton shirt and some tough wool pants but it would be all she would need even in this terrible storm. She slowly crawled over the massive claws of her companion and snuggled into the space between his arm and neck, the dovah's heartfire bleeding heat through his thick scales. It was very rare that this would happen, even between the two friends but both Odahviing and Refridís were exhausted from their journey and the happenings of the past few hours. With the storm still trying to rip apart the mountain, Odahviing tucked his head under his wings which he had covered the majority of his body with and the two companions fell asleep.

* * *

Refridís had set out for the town the next morning after Odahviing had gently deposited her at the foot of the mountains, the fog hiding his massive form as he flew. She managed to find everything she needed and a little bit more. She bought a map from a vender and convinced them to show her their current location despite the suspicious look they gave her. It turned out that she was at the eastern foot of the Blue Mountains to where the River Lhûn emptied out into the Gulf of Lhûn, not too far from the Shire where she would meet up with Gandalf. Along with the map, she bought two tunics, one dark green and the other white, some brown leather archer gloves, a brown leather vest, a dark green cloak, and two pairs of black pants before deciding that she would just wear her tough Nightingale boots. The vendor's eyes widened in surprise when Refridís asked him if a hundred gold coins were enough to cover the items, not being quite sure about the value of things in Middle-Earth.

She walked into a trader's shop across the street in order to buy some fresh meat and vegetables for her mountaintop stay with Odahviing, long since having abandoned the Green Pact that the Bosmer of Valenwood followed strictly. It was in this way that she spent the rest of the day, wandering through the town listening in on the conversations of the people and learning about items that interested her (and perhaps pickpocketing some people out of habit). When night finally arrived, she hiked back to where Odahviing dropped her off and whispered his name.

It only took a few moments for the Dovah to retrieve her and on the way back to the crag, he told her some interesting news, _**"It seems like that lahzey wishes to speak with you. When you called for me, a white moth that stunk of volunduv lu flew close and I heard it speak."**_

"Hm, did you hear what it said?" Refridís asked

"_**Nid."**_

"Welll let us see what our new friend wants."

They arrived shortly at the crag, a ghostly moth fluttering about before landing on Refridís's outstretched hands.

"_We meet in four days. Look for a magical symbol on the door of one of the houses to find our meeting place." _

With that message, the moth flew away quickly before disappearing into the clouds.

"Seems that this quest is moving forward rather quickly," the wood elf said to the Dovah who let out a small huff and settled himself comfortably for the night.

* * *

_**~Four days Later~**_

It had been a relatively uneventful four days of waiting, filled with planning and gathering resources. In order to keep Odahviing as hidden as possible, she would only whisper his name at night so that he could travel under the cover of darkness and they would only meet face to face if she mentioned it in her call.

Refridís rode a lithe black horse in her new traveling clothes and her hair loose, covering her pointed ears, through the peaceful greens of the Shire as the sun was beginning to set, looking for a house with a symbol from Gandalf. The horse, which she had named Vokun, was a far cry from the stocky build of Frost and as a result, she had some trouble packing on her supplies on it. A little over a quarter of her supplies ended up being tied down on the saddle that Odahviing wore, something he was very offended by and he had refused to talk to her for the rest of that day.

It was only until the sun had disappeared behind the horizon that she saw a faint glow on one of the houses. Refridís walked Vokun up to the door before getting off and tying him to a nearby fence, far enough away that the horse would not chew the flowers and shrubs that bordered the walkway. She took a deep breath and gave a solid four knocks.

She is slightly surprised when the Grey Wizard does not answer the door but rather a man of very short stature, curly hair, and large hairy feet answered the door.

He looks at her curiously before asking, "May I help you?"

Refridís shakes her head out of her stupor and responds, "Yes I believe you can, does Gandalf happen to be here?"

The man gives a slight frown before saying, "I am very sorry Miss but unfortunately Gandalf is not here. Should you have arrived this morning you may have been able to catch him."

The wood elf gave him a disappointed look before sighing, "He said that he would be here… Oh well. Do you happen to know where I may rent out a room for the night? I have travelled a very, very long way to get here and I am positively exhausted."

The man gave her a puzzled look before shooting her a small smile, "There is an inn in the town of Bree a little while outside of Hobbiton but I would not be able to sleep tonight if I knew that I let a young woman who is not from around here to walk around in the dark. You may stay here for tonight, I have the room and you came just in time for dinner!"

"I thank you very much for your kindness Mister…?" Refridís questioned.

"Oh where are my manners, Bilbo Baggins of Bag End, pleasure to make your acquaintance," the man responded smiling and allowing her to pass him into his home.

"I am Refridís Silduaan of Skyrim, and the pleasure is all mine," Refridís said as she stooped slightly in order to walk through the cozy hallway, "This is a lovely home you have Mister Baggins. If you don't mind me asking, I am a traveler and I have never quite seen a man like you?"

As she sat at the dinner table, Bilbo spoke as he brought out two plates of fish along with a couple of lemons, a bowl of fresh greens, and cups, "That is because I am not a man but rather a hobbit!"

Refridís looked at him a bit confused, "Hm… I do not have hobbits where I come from but you are a very kind fellow to have allowed me to stay in your home."

Bilbo flushed a little at the compliment and just as they were about to start eating the doorbell rang, startling Bilbo who gave a displeased look in the middle of squeezing lemon on his fish. Refridís watched Bilbo as he crossed his home and opened to door only to see a short, bald man greeting and bowing slightly towards Bilbo.

"Dwalin, at your service."

Bilbo lets out a shocked noise before responding, "Bilbo Baggins, at yours."

Dwalin, while short, looked nothing like her host in Refridís's eyes, walked inside Bilbo's house without invitation much to the displeasure of the hobbit.

"D-do we know each other?" The startled hobbit called after him.

"No. Which way, laddie? Is it down here?" Dwalin asked.

"I-is what down where?" the flustered Bilbo responded.

Refridís decided that she did not like this man and got up to help her hobbit host. Dwalin dumped some of his things on the ground before handing the rest off to Bilbo. When the short man spotted her, he gave a slight bow and said the same greeting to her. Refridís frowned slightly before simply stating her first name.

Dwalin turned towards Bilbo and answered his question by saying, "Supper. He said there'd be food, and lots of it."

Bilbo and Refridís looked at each other absolutely confused and Bilbo squeaked out a, "H-He said? Who said?"

Dwalin sat in Bilbo's spot before messily eating his fish, head included much to the hobbit's disgust, before reaching and eating Refridís's as well much to the displeasure of her growling stomach.

The man gave a noise of approval before asking if there was more to which Bilbo responded that there was and brought over some biscuits, hiding one behind his back for himself as Dwalin dug in.

"Its-Its just that, um, I wasn't expecting company," Bilbo said, clearly uncomfortable with the situation looking at Refridís for advice.

The wood elf simply shrugged her shoulder before they both looked in alarm towards the door whose doorbell just rang again.

Dwalin looked up from his eating saying, "That'll be the door."

Refridís, who was closest to the door opened it to find another short man, this one with snowy white hair and an equally white beard.

"Balin, at your service," he said, giving the same bow that Dwalin had.

Refridís simply nodded and Bilbo said, "Good evening."

Balin started to nod while saying, "Yes, yes it is, though I think it might rain later. Am I late?"

Bilbo responded with a start, "Late for what?"

At that moment, the snow-haired man walked passed to two confused people and greeted the one inside the house who was busy trying to get biscuits from a jar.

"Oh, by my beard, you are shorter and wider than last we met!" Dwalin exclaimed.

"Wider, not shorter. Sharp enough for both of us!" Balin said laughing.

To the surprise of both Refridís and Bilbo, the two men smashed their foreheads together.

"Uh, excuse me; sorry, I hate to interrupt, ah, but the thing is, I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house!" the hobbit said, "It's not that I don't like visitors; I-I like visitors as much as the next Hobbit, but I do like to know them before they come visiting."

Bilbo chased after the two men who were rifling through his pantry leaving Refridís at the door. From her position she could hear a discussion about cheese and Bilbo saying "The thing is, um, I, I don't know either of you, not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I uh, but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry."

The two men forgave the hobbit before continuing their food search and the doorbell rang again. Refridís had half a mind not to open it in case anymore rude folks had come to visit her poor host but a pleading look from Bilbo moved her hand. What she saw once she opened the doors however stopped her in her place.

Standing there, clear as day, were two more, younger looking, short men. However, it was the man at the right that made her stomach drop for it was the very man who had saw her and Odahviing during their first day in Middle-Earth.

And by the way he was staring at her, she had a feeling she had somehow been recognized.

* * *

_**Meanings:**_

_**Mal ilit, los hi beck?: **__Little fox, are you alright?_

…_**Oblaan…: **__Destination_

_**Sumah dii for...: **__Whisper for me_

_**Lahzey: **__Wizard_

_**volunduv lu: **__Unnatural Magic_

_**Nid: **__No_

* * *

_**Had to leave it at that tiny cliffhanger as I have a feeling that this chapter dragged on long enough. **_

_**Hope you guys enjoyed the story but I must ask a favor of you guys. If anything seems a bit OOC or the information I write is wrong, please PLEASE tell me and I will do some research and edit my story to fit accordingly. I have only been able to see both parts of the trilogy once because it happened to be showing on TV which was what got me really interested in Tolkien's Universe (even if I have seen all the Lord of the Rings movies). I have a copy of both movie scripts and maps of Middle-Earth saved on my computer to help fill in the gaps that my memory has forgotten and I have started reading the book version of the Hobbit as well. I also have (slash)translate as my DragonLanguage Translator and a map of Tamriel on my wall and if I need any specific information about Skyrim, I either boot up my game or look it up on the Elder Scroll Wiki. But seriously, call me out if you see something wrong!**_

_**Again, thank you very much for reading and hope you liked the chapter! Drop a review if you want, even something simple like a "cool, do more" brings a massive smile on my face.**_

_**Next Chapter, Kíli and Refridís's reaction!**_


	5. Confrontation

_**The fact that so many people have favorite, followed, and reviewed my story makes me absolutely ecstatic! Thank you to Biolegend712, Kazaru13, Inle-Hain-Rah, bandrose111, DecrepitSoul, and Mr Review for their wonderful comments, hope the chapter is all what you want it to be! My jaw is feeling tons better and I'm sure in a day or two I will be back to normal.**_

_**To Biolegend712: You are right to think so but it said doorbell in the script. However this bothered me too and I changed it to just knocking ;)**_

_**Someone PMed me for a description of Refridís and I will eventually be putting up a picture but in the mean time here is a brief physical description: Slightly tanned skin due to her Bosmer heritage, black hair that reaches mid-back which normally has two braids that start above her ears and meet behind her head to become a single braid that rest on loose hair and a small amount of loose hair that frames her face on both sides and comes down slightly past her chin (hopefully that makes sense until I can draw her) , reddish-brown eyes, and she is 5'4'' seeing as Wood Elves seem to be the shortest in Skyrim and I wanted her to be slightly taller than the dwarves. Thorin is 5'2'' according to interviews.**_

_**Don't expect an update within the next couple of days because of college stuff and since its summer harvesting time and I live on a farm. Also my internet is limited to 10 gigs a month so updates might be a bit sporadic around this time as it is when our new "month" begins and my family is rationing internet time.**_

_**Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridís belongs to me!**_

_**And now the moment many of you have been waiting for…**_

* * *

Refridís's throat seemed to suddenly become a desert as she couldn't get her tongue to work a proper greeting. She quickly began thinking about the multiple scenarios and probable answers she could give regarding the even that was currently transpiring before her.

_Just play it cool. You do not recognize them if they somehow recognize you. Perhaps that is simply how the man looks at everyone._

Her thoughts were momentarily interrupted when the blond-haired man introduced himself as Fíli. It seemed like he was waiting for something before he narrowed his eyes and elbowed the dark-haired man in the side.

Fíli's companion turned towards him with a wince before mumbling, "Kíli".

They both bowed down, one more eagerly than the other, and repeated the "at your service" greeting that Balin and Dwalin had said.

Fíli smiled kindly at Refridís before asking, "Is Mr. Boggins home?"

"It is Mr. Baggins my good sir, but I do not believe that he is taking on anymore guests at the moment," Refridís said, turning to look behind her as the harried hobbit headed her way.

"Nope! You can't come in, you've come to the wrong house!" Bilbo exclaimed as he attempted to close his door, blocking the hallway of his home from the unwanted visitors.

Kíli blocked the door with his foot and he took his wary eyes off of Refridís in order to look at the hobbit and asked, "What? Has it been cancelled?"

Fíli, which Refridís decided was the more pleasant brother, continued with, "No one told us."

Bilbo looked absolutely befuddled and Refridís could see that he was quickly losing his patience as a crash was heard from the pantry. He stammered, "W-what? No, nothing's been cancelled."

Kíli started handing Bilbo his weapons while smiling, "Well, that's a relief."

Fíli handed Refridís his weapons, giving her a quick wink, "Careful with these. I just had'em sharpened."

Refridís looked down at the weapons, annoyed that she had been degraded to a simple carrier and that was when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kíli had kept a dagger with him on his belt. Considering his attitude and her apparent discovery, she decided that she had to watch out for him just in case he was up to any funny business. She was, however, absolutely shocked when Kíli started to scrape the mud off his boots onto the edge of what looked like to be a very old chest.

Bilbo squeaked at the action, dropping the weapons on the ground and quickly told Kíli off, "Ah, no! It's been in the family for years! That's my mother's glory box, can you please not do that?!"

From down the hall, the two men who had already made themselves comfortable called to the new visitors. Fíli and Bilbo followed the voices while Kíli stayed back. There was a large clamoring and a sound of despair that could only have come from the hobbit as someone had started moving furniture.

Refridís had her attention towards the noise but she could feel Kíli's glare on the back of her head. After a few moments, she had enough and towards the short man before asking in an innocent tone, "Can I help you?"

Kíli looked surprised that he had been confronted before narrowing his eyes and saying, "I know who you are."

Refridís raised her eyebrow, mocking confusion and hoping it was believable, responded, "I'm sorry, but I do not believe we have ever met before."

Kíli was about to give a retort when there was a strong knock on the door, much to Refridís's relief, and she dropped Fíli's weapons with Kíli's deserted ones.

Bilbo stormed down the hall before yelling, "Oh no. No, no! There's nobody home. Go away, and bother somebody else. There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If-if-if this is some clottard's idea of a joke, ha ha, I can only say, it is in very poor taste!"

Refridís was instantly taken back at the mention of dwarves. She had had her ear talked off more than once by Calcelmo when she had visited Markarth about the Dwemer and their culture. She thought back to the many Dwemer ruins she had crawled through and had lost a dragon soul or two in as she fought the multiple steam machinations that guarded their halls.

"_But it is not only machines that patrol Dwemer halls," _Refridís thought, the hair on the back of her neck rising in anger at the thought of the blind Falmer.

The vile and blind creatures had more than once nearly taken her life but she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. The mighty race of Snow Elves who had plead for the protection of the Dwemer against the Nords who wished to see their extinction, had slowly been poisoned and twisted into slaves by the very people who they seeked help from.

Her angry thoughts cut off when Bilbo opened the door and an entire heap of the supposedly extinct Dwemer fell onto his floor. Refridís counted eight of them as they grumbled and yelled each other to get off. Gandalf was standing behind the wriggling mass when he stooped down and their eyes met.

_We need to talk. _Refridís projected at him with her eyes and the Grey Wizard gave a barely visible nod.

The Dwemer quickly overcame Bilbo's attempt of blocking the hall way and dumped their weapons into a growing pile near the door. When Refridís looked for the Dwemer who had been staring at her venomously before the interruption, she discovered that he had joined the others in raiding Bilbo's pantry.

The hobbit was absolutely frantic as he attempted to take control of the situation only to be ignored. It was absolute chaos as the Dwemer were pulling out everything that had been carefully stored in the dry room, from meats and wines, to even entire wheels of cheese, and moving furniture and all in all being complete nuisances.

Refridís turned towards Gandalf with a heavy frowned and asked him with a voice only he would hear, "What is the meaning of this? I thought we were killing a dragon, not having a party."

Gandalf gave her a sheepish look and a small smile before responding, "All in good time, my dear."

A grey-haired Dwemer came up to Gandalf to ask him if he wanted tea and the wizard found it to be the most opportune time to step away from the fuming Bosmer. Refridís did not feel sorry for him when he hit his head on the chandelier. He began to count and name the Dwemer who were scurrying about Bilbo's dining room. She spotted Kíli glaring at her as he whispered to Fíli who seemed very interested in what he was saying before turning away. Refridís tore her view of the two Dwemer when one came up to Gandalf with an axe in his head and spoke to the wizard in a strange language.

"Yes, you're quite right, Bifur. We appear to be one dwarf short," the grey wizard responded, obviously understanding the strange language.

"He is late, is all. He travelled North to a meeting of our kin. He will come," Dwalin said, overhearing the statement.

Refridís was very unhappy about the prospect of another loudmouth Dwemer coming into the home and she sat down in a chair that had been moved to the wall to make room for the festivities. She was not very big on large celebrations, even those at the local inns, as the noise would hurt her sensitive ears and she hated dealing with sloppy drunks who would attempt to convince her to go somewhere more private, her smallish wood elf stature making her seem like an easy target. More than once she had slit the throat of a particularly pushy one and left them in an alley way to be found by a night guardsman or a begger.

The only time when she had actually enjoyed a proper party was when she had invited all of her close friends to her manor in Falkreath after Alduin's defeat. Someone had found a way to import a rather large quantity of elvish wine and the morning after she had found herself in the forest in her skivvies with an Amulet of Mara around her neck and half of the Falkreath guard looking for her. Apparently they did not appreciate her and her companions' drunken search for the dragon that was supposedly hiding under the Jarl's Longhouse, no matter if she was thane or the savior of Skyrim. It was Calcelmo that had managed to talk them out of jail time by stating they had been experimenting with a recipe found in the Dwemer ruins for a drink that would make them be able to bend metals with their bare hands.

"_Oh how I wish Calcelmo was here right now. He would be having a fit over finding out that the Dwemer still existed in parts of the world," _Refridís thought, smiling softly at the memory of the researcher who she had befriended.

The Bosmer was once again rudely brought out of her thoughts as she dodged a biscuit that had been thrown in her direction. She turned her attention to the growing food fight, much to Bilbo's disgust as he ran out of the room, and watched as Fíli walked on top of her host's table, carrying several cups of ale and knocking aside food with his feet. Dwalin said something and Refridís watched as the blond Dwemer poured the drink down another's hearing trumpet, who quickly reacted with brief anger before blowing into it and making it squeal while the others laughed. She heard a countdown and observed as they suddenly got quiet, gulping their ale fast enough to make even a Nord embarrassed of his drinking skills. It was incredibly messy as ale fell all over their faces and ran down their beards and she was only slightly amused as they smashed their tankards down and began to burp, the youngest looking letting out a massive belch that had her mentally congratulating him. She caught Kíli watching her from the corner of his eye as he laughed with his companions and quickly made eye contact, staring him down until he looked away.

* * *

It is a complete mess when the feast is done and the Dwemer began to leave the table. Bilbo ran up to one of them and took away something from their hand. Refridís was only partially paying attention to the discussion, having nodded off slightly while watching Kíli through half-closed eyes when she jumped awake at Bilbo yelling out what she is sure to be an explicative.

"My dear Bilbo," Gandalf said, "What on earth is the matter?"

"What's the matter?" Bilbo spluttered, his entire face going red, "I'm surrounded by dwarves. What ARE they doing here?"

Gandalf oblivious or ignoring the hobbits discontent, simply answered, "Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them."

Bilbo looked like he is about to explode as he stomped his foot and he quickly retorted, ""I don't want to get used to them. The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet, they've pi-pillaged the pantry. I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"

Gandalf simply gives a small chuckle as he changes his attention from the hobbit to Refridís's unamused face, who raises her eyebrow in question. He gently waved her off, not in the mood to explain to her what exactly was happening. She observed as the youngest of the bunch, Ori she remembered, came up to Bilbo and asked him politely what he should do with his plate.

_"At least one of them has manners," _She thought.

Her attention was quickly changed as Fíli took the plate from Ori with a yell and threw it to Kíli who threw it behind his back to Bifur who caught it without even looking. The air was suddenly filled with plates, bowls, and utensils as they get thrown towards the sink to get washed, Gandalf almost getting caught in the crossfire and Bilbo shrieking about the age of the crockery.

The Dwemer begin to drum on the table when Bilbo, clearly at the end of his nerves, asks, "Can-can you not do that? You'll blunt them!"

The mischievous look in the eyes of the Dwemer with the funny hat is not missed as he responded, "Ooh, d'hear that lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!"

It is the black-haired dwarf who has been giving Refridís dirty looks all night who begins to sing, _"Blunt the knives,"_

_ "Bend the forks!" _Fíli joins in after his brother and it is not long before all the Dwemer join in.

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks_

_Chip the glasses and crack the plates_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

_Cut the cloth and tread on the fat_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor_

_Splash the wine on every door_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole_

_When you've finished, if any are whole_

_Send them down the hall to roll_

_..._

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"_

Bilbo seemed about to lose his cool when he realized that the Dwemer had cleaned up his home. The short men along with Gandalf began to laugh as the hobbit stared open mouthed at the neatly stacked dishes only to be fall silent at three loud knocks that echo throughout the home.

"He is here." Gandalf states before turning to Refridís, "Do you mind getting the door?"

The Bosmer rose from her chair and walked over to the door. Behind it, stood the missing Dwemer, but this one was rather different from the rest of them. He stood tall, proud, and serious, his braided black hair and beard framing his face and his piercing blue eyes taking in the strange red-eyed woman who had opened the door for him.

He stepped into Bilbo's home and handed his cloak to Refridís before turning to Gandalf and saying, "Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."

"Mark?" Bilbo questioned as he came forward to look at his door, "There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago!"

Gandalf gave a sly smile before confessing, "There is a mark; I put it there myself! Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

At the mention of a company, Refridís snapped her attention towards the wizard with narrowed eyes. _Company?_

"So this is the Hobbit." Thorin said as he eyed Bilbo, "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

The poor hobbit seemed taken aback by the question, "Pardon me?"

Refridís observed that Thorin was probably a Dwemer of short temper as he rolled his eyes and asked, "Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

Bilbo seemed to be raking his brains for an answer before he responded, "Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Thought as much," scoffed the proud Dwemer, "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

As the other Dwemer laughed and settled back down around the dining table, Refridís walked up to the hobbit and gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as they walked behind them. She was quickly losing her respect and patience with these Dwemer and their absolute lack of manners towards her host who had kindly, though albeit unknowingly, given his home for their meeting. She entered the room with Bilbo and saw that the group was gathered around Thorin.

"What do the dwarves in the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" asked Balin.

"They will not come. They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." Thorin responded as he ate from Bilbo's heavily diminished pantry and was answered with disappointed murmers.

"And from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked again.

Thorin's eyes gained a dark look before answering, "Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

The Dwemer murmured their joy before their leader continued, "However, I have upsetting news. It was brought to my attention while meeting there that a message was sent about a dragon being seen in the Blue Mountains. Care to explain?"

Kíli rose up, silencing all the quiet murmers, "Yes, I saw the dragon. I discovered it while looking for shelter during the last storm that passed over along with something much more interesting. There was a woman in armor as black as night that seemed to blend in with the shadows and eyes red like blood, who seemed to control the beast. At their discovery, both beings fled in to the mist and I have not seen them since. Not until now." He ended his speech with a glare towards Refridís, which every Dwemer followed.

The red-eyed Bosmer was absolutely seething with rage, "Excuse me?! What is that look supposed to mean?!"

"You know plain well what that means! I saw you in that cave with that horrid beast, do not even try to deny it." Kíli spat back, his hand twitching down towards the hidden dagger, putting all the others who had seen it on edge as they made slight adjustments in position in case they had to run to their weapons.

Refridís responded by slamming her hands on the table and rising from her chair to stand above the offending Dwemer, ""Do you even know who you are talking to?! I am Refridís Silduaan of Skyrim, legendary Dovah-slayer and peacemaker of my land! I deny your claims as the only time I would ride on the back of a Dovah would be when I am removing their heads from their bodies! So watch your tongue before insinuating something so ludicrous!"

The enraged wood elf ended her discussion with Kíli by giving a sharp look towards the wizard and sitting down, wise enough to not be the first one to swing should a fight break out as she was heavily outnumbered and against an enemy she never faced before. Her decision, however, did not eliminate her desperate need to punch the Dwemer in the face. "I was invited here under the assumption that I, along with a certain wizard alone, would be eliminating a problem that has been plaguing this land and so far I have not received any answers to the multiple questions I now have."

Gandalf cleared his throat hoping to diffuse the tense situation as he spread a map out on the table and asked for some more light, "Far over the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."

"The Lonely Mountain?" Bilbo asked nervously as he glanced between the angry Refridís and the rest of his guests.

"Aye." Gloin said, moving slightly away from the Bosmer, "Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time."

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Oin explained as he leaned over the table.

"Uh, what beast?" Bilbo asked, his voice laced with concern at what he had already heard.

Bofur quickly responded, "Well that would be reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals—"

Bilbo cut him off, "Yes, I know what a dragon is!"

Ori piped up as he stood, "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!"

Some of the Dwemer began cheering on their youngest member as Refridís's face turned dark at the description of Smaug, remembering similar titles that Alduin had held. There was little to no experience in this bunch with dragon fighting or else they would know that it was no joking matter. Her eyes caught the look Thorin was giving his company as he seemed to silently agree with her.

Dori growled a "sit down" while pulling Ori back in his seat and Balin quickly rectified the cheering by saying, "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."

After all the Dwemer finished being offended by the remark, Gandalf said, "That is where you are wrong my friends, as I have invited Refridís from her lands to help us with this quest for her claims as a dragon-slayer are no lie."

Refridís narrowed her eyes towards the wizard, displeased at the prospect of traveling with company, especially one so large and with possibly hostile members before answering, "Yes, it seems as if there are now fourteen of us."

Thorin gave the wizard a questioning glare before asking, "How do you know that we can trust this woman with knowledge of our quest?"

Gandalf easily responded, "I would not invite someone unless I could personally vouch for them. She is the Archmage of her land, a title that is not earned unless they prove that they are to never use magic for foul purposes. Additionally, she already knows about our quest so we simply have no choice but to bring her with us now."

"Enough, quest or no quest, I am going to be slaying that Dovah. Should I have to traveling with a group, so be it," Refridís said, interrupting the discussion as politely as she could before turning towards Bofur, "You say that he is a fire breather?"

Bofur gave a small hum of approval before Refridís pulled out a medium sized journal from her pockets and flipped through it, numerous pictures of dragons and writing passing with a blur.

"Yet one thing concerns me. You said that this Smaug is very fond of precious metals but the dragons I have faced only tend to have a few hundred gold coins along with some shiny trinkets hidden in a chest. I have only seen three dragons with a lust like the one you are describing to me," Refridís continued with a grave look on her face, stopping at a page with a drawing of two dragons, one white and one red, curled up in a circle on top of a pile of gold with some large jewels between them, "I observed this pair and their behavior due to the fact that seeing two Dovah in the same place was absolutely unheard of unless they are fighting and came up with a startling conclusion which leads me to my next question."

"Are you certain that Smaug was not a female looking for a nesting place or a male with an expectant mate?"

* * *

_**Annndddd I will end it there! Hopefully the confrontation between Refridís and Kíli was acceptable but if it wasn't, there is plenty of time between now and Erebor for things to happen. No translations this time (unless you haven't caught on that Dwemer means dwarf and Dovah means dragon).**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the little plot twist at the end! Please review to tell me what you thought and how I am doing! Your comments and criticisms are appreciated!**_


	6. The Makings of a Promise

_**Hello everyone! I just came back from my first college test and finished editing this chapter. Thanks to Kazaru13, DecrepitSoul, Inle-Hain-Rah, Mr. Review, and Victor for their comments and criticisms! Thank you all for your favorites and follows!**_

_**I managed to convince my mother to Redbox both of the Hobbit movies so I got to think of plot points and twists as I watched them and refreshed my memories and let me tell you, I have big things planned.**_

_**To DecrepitSoul: I'm glad that you enjoyed that confrontation and wanted to say that I took your criticism to heart when it came to writing this chapter. About the trolls, *SPOILER* let's just say that Refridis thinks she's facing against something completely different when she hears that trolls took the ponies ;)*END SPOILER*. I honestly blushed when I read the last part of your comment and want to say that I very much look forwards to what you have to say about my future chapters.**_

_**To Inle-Hain-Rah: I thank you for your comment and glad you enjoyed that little twist! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**_

_**To Victor: The only thing that I will say is that Smaug will definitely be different to any other dragon Refridis has ever faced, Alduin included. I have not thought as far as to continuing it through the LOTR trilogy but that is something that I will now think of. I already have a general idea of what the endgame for this story will be but I can definitely see myself bending and changing some things to make it possible if I desire to continue this story beyond the Hobbit. ;)**_

_**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I did take a few creative liberties when it came to explaining some things but I don't think they bend the lore too much. If you believe that Refridis is kind of uptight and unfriendly, believe me, she will get better once she gets to know the company a bit more.**_

_**Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Characters belong to Bethesda, Refridis belongs to me!**_

The company, along with Bilbo and even Gandalf himself, looked at Refridis as if she had grown a second head. She continued reading the entry in her journal, trying to jog her memory about how to tell the difference between a male and female dragon from a distance before noticing the silence and looking up with a questioning glance.

"Are you saying that there may be more than one dragon currently hiding inside of Erebor?" Thorin asked quietly.

"It is a possibility, yes. I am not sure how long it takes the eggs of Dovah to hatch but if Smaug is a lone female you will have a very protective mother most likely guarding eggs or hatchlings. If it is male and he has a mate and nest with him, expect to be fighting two dragons at once," Refridis answered as she put the journal back in her pocket, "Either way, it will not be a very pleasant experience. The adults will be difficult to kill but it is not impossible, however if there are hatchlings or eggs they must be destroyed as well, no exceptions."

"How do we know that what you are telling us is the truth and not simply you trying to stop us from our quest? You say you are a legendary dragon slayer but why is it that nobody in this room has ever heard of you with the exception of Gandalf? That book you are holding could simply be something you picked up or wrote with your own fantasies!" Kili piped up, certain that the red-eyed Bosmer could not hold proof of her experiences without claiming to know a dragon personally.

Refridis was silent for a second, all the dwarves looking at her and some sharing Kili's doubt, before she got up and grabbed her bag by the door. After some rustling around, Refridis pulled out a cloak made of over a hundred scales of all colors and sizes which glittered and shimmered against the light of the fireplace as it was moved and spread it against the table. In the center of the cloak was a massive black scale that seemed to suck the very light out of the air.

"I come from a land very far from Middle-Earth, a journey that takes two months to make by ship across the ocean located to the west. This cloak contains a scale from every Dovah I have ever found and slain. As proof that I did not simply find it, I have some loose scales that I still have to add on," Refridis explained as she dropped five different colored scales on the table before picking up the cloak and tossing it in the fireplace, "and before you tell me to prove it is of Dovah origin, it is fireproof."

Refridis took the cloak out of the flames with a poker, unwilling to show that she could not be burned due to the fact that dragon's blood ran through her veins, before looking at Kili, daring him to say something else. The young black-haired dwarf looked away, clearly disgruntled at being defeated, and the other dwarves muttered between themselves with curiosity and distrust. Thorin stayed silent through the whole exchange, observing the Bosmer with a steely gaze.

"If you all are quite finished questioning my credentials, I would like to continue," Refridis said, sitting down, "I do not know how large, vicious, or powerful the Dovah of this land are but considering the fact that just one managed to overtake an entire army of Dwemer, I doubt that the thirteen of you will be able to take down the beast even with my help and expertise and that is if there is only one currently residing in the mountain."

"Dwemer?" Thorin asked, wondering if he had just been insulted.

"It is the common name for dwarves in my homeland," Refridis clarified, not wanting to gain bad favor with the leader of the group she would be traveling with.

"We may be few in number," Fili said with a smile, "but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!"

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time!" Kili said, deliberately avoiding the Wood Elf's eyes.

Gandalf looked at the dwarves who were eagerly staring at him, "Oh, well, now, uh, I-I-I wouldn't say that, I-"

"How many, then?" Dori asked the wizard.

"Uh, what?" Gandalf asked, trying to think of what to say.

"Well, how many dragons have you killed? We know that your friend here has killed hundreds, how many have you? Go on, give us a number!" Dori continued.

The dwarves started to get riled up, jumping to their feet and arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf had killed while said wizard was embarrassedly coughing on his pipe smoke. Refridis gave a hard look towards him, having figured out by now that even the wizard who had called for her help had little experience with fighting dragons.

Everyone fell suddenly silent when Thorin jumped up and bellowed a command in Khuzdûl before saying, "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? _Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!"_

All the dwarves gave a mighty cheer before Balin pointed out an important fact, "You forget, the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin," Gandalf said while producing an ornately wrought Dwarvish key seemingly out of thin air, "is not entirely true."

Thorin looked at him with shock, "How came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf explained as he handed over the key to the tall dwarf while the rest of the company looked on in wonder.

"If there is a key, there must be a door!" Fili said and Refridis resisted rolling eyes at the blond Dwemer's obvious statement.

"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls," Gandalf began.

"There's another way in!" Kili exclaimed, forgetting his foul mood in the excitement.

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done," The wizard finished explaining, his eyes moving towards the hobbit.

Refridis froze for a second wondering if Gandalf knew about her position within the Thieves Guild in Riften before she followed his gaze towards Bilbo, her heart sinking at what he meant.

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori said.

Bilbo, completely oblivious to the looks that the others were giving him, answered, "Hm. A good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine."

"And are you?" Gloin questioned, giving the hobbit an expectant look.

"Am I what?" Bilbo asked, looking at the dwarf with confusion.

"He said he's an expert! Hey Hey!" Oin said causing several of the dwarves to start laughing.

Bilbo was in complete shock at the current events before shaking himself out of his stupor and stuttering, "M-Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life."

"Gandalf, surely you can't be serious about bringing him on this quest?" Refridis asked the wizard, horrified at the very prospect of her gentle host being forced to face a dragon.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins and Ms. Silduaan. He's hardly burglar material," Balin said, Bilbo nodding in agreement behind him.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin said, agreeing with his brother.

The dwarves once again began arguing, all of them trying to find the benefits and consequences of bringing the hobbit along with them. Refridis gave Gandalf a disappointed look and was about to attempt to talk him out of the idea but saw that he was getting agitated by the dwarves constantly questioning his choices.

"Enough!" Gandalf roared as he rose to his full height and cast a dark shadow over the group, "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is!"

The Grey Wizard began calming down as the dwarves froze in awe and fear before continuing, "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth and fifteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins and Ms. Silduaan. There's a lot more to them than appearances suggest, and they've got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including the hobbit himself. You must all trust me on this."

"Very well," Thorin said as Bilbo vehemently tried to deny any involvement, "We will do it your way. Give them the contract."

Bofur gave a small cheer as Balin handed both Refridis and Bilbo a long contract before explaining what they contained, "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

Refridis raised an eyebrow at that last statement while Bilbo squeakily repeated, "Funeral arrangements?". As Refridis was checking the contract, making sure that she wasn't getting taken advantage of, she saw that Thorin and Gandalf were discussing something but they were just out of hearing range. She decided to ignore it for now and continued to skim through the words looking for some key information, mostly what she would be paid. Refridis may be the savior of Skyrim, but she was still the leader of the infamous Thieves Guild and she couldn't resist the call to gold that was deeply ingrained in her from both her human and dragon side.

Bilbo reached the information she wanted to know first and he read aloud, "Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fifteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations ... evisceration … incineration?"

The hobbit looked towards the dwarves, his eyes as wide as saucers looking for an explanation before Bofur replied, "Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."

Bilbo began to look sick and Refridis got up, knowing the look all too well, and began walking towards the hobbit. Bofur continued with his rather vivid explanation and Refridis ended up having to dive in order to grab the hobbits head before it hit the ground after he let out a "nope" and fainted. Had he landed, it would have given him a rather large bump on the head, not to mention a nasty headache. She picked up the unconscious hobbit and sat him down on his chair, giving the dwarf in the funny hat, who was now looking rather embarrassed, a hard glare.

Once she was sure that the hobbit would be alright, she turned towards her own contract and read it in silence as the dwarves watched her face for any reaction. Once she finished, she gave a hum of approval and held her hand out, signaling towards a quill, and quietly signed it when it was passed to her.

"Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield. If you are as experienced as you say you are, you will be a very valuable member to our group," Balin said as he stamped the document and gave her a gentle smile.

"Well if that's that, I need to go outside to make sure that my horse is properly taken care of for tonight." Refridis said returning the smile to the older Dwemer.

She grabbed her cloak and weapons before turning to Gandalf, "Tell Bilbo to come out and see me when he wakes up regardless of whether or not he signs the contract as I wish to have a word with him."

Gandalf gave her a nod and with that, Refridis exited the warm home and walked into the cool night air. She was rather unnerved by most of the company and needed to get out and be alone for a while. She wasn't bothered that she did not know the people that she was going to travel with as well as she would have liked, in fact that was something that happened all the time when she was completing quests back home, but it was the fact that these people were distrustful and suspicious of her from the beginning. She always tried to get off on the right foot with people, knowing that they would be more willing to do favors and share information or to manipulate if she made a good impression on them.

_"Damn that storm and that Dwemer. Couldn't it have happened some other time?" _Refridis thought as she stroked Volkun's neck, the black horse giving a sleepy nicker of greeting, _"Because of him the company is already keeping a closer eye on me. It will be harder to communicate with Odahviing if they are constantly looking over my back. I cannot do anything that might cause them to be more suspicious of me, that means limiting my use of dragon language which means no using Thu'ums for this journey"_

Refridis gave a frustrated sigh, "_It's probably for the best if I don't use them anyway. I don't have Odahviing to hold me back in case I… lose control. Can't have that happening again, especially after last time."_

The Bosmer shook her head from her dark thoughts and sat down next to where her horse had decided to sleep. Looking into the night sky, she tried to find any of the familiar constellations from her home but only managed to find the stars that made up The Shadow before not recognizing anything else and giving up with a sigh. It had been a little under two weeks and she already missed the night lights of Skyrim and its constantly frosty air despite it being Second Seed.

She stayed outside for a good while, taking in the view of Hobbiton and enjoying the cool night air. She was instantly alert however when she heard the door to Bag-End open and the sound of footsteps approach her until they stopped a few feet away. She prayed to the Divines that it wasn't Kili and turned around only to see Bilbo seemingly fighting with himself internally.

"Hello Bilbo, glad that fainting spell didn't last too long," Refridis said with a smile as she quite liked the hobbit and his mannerisims.

"Hm? Oh yes, yes. I wanted to thank you for saving my head back there, would have been quite a nasty bruise tomorrow if you didn't." Bilbo responded while taking the last couple steps before sitting down next to her, "Gandalf said that you wished to speak to me?"

"Yes but before I do, something is troubling you…" Refridis stated, leaving no room for questioning.

Bilbo was silent for a few moments before giving a sigh of exasperation, "Yes and no. I am torn up about going on this quest! On one side, I am a respected member of this community and no respected member goes off and has adventures out of the blue! It is completely unheard of, especially for a Baggins! On the other, I am also a Took on my mother's side and this is my chance to see the world beyond the Shire. My younger self would have taken this chance and ran with it in a heartbeat. I just…I don't know what to do. Gandalf told me that he could not assure my safety on this quest just to add to my list of worries."

Refridis nodded with understanding, "You are caught at a crossroads my dear Master Hobbit. Should you turn down one of the roads, you may never know what would happen if you had taken the others but those are the risks of life. You need to look into yourself and see what it is you truly desire. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between what the head wants with all its thoughts and opinions blocking what the heart wants but I have learned a simple trick that allows me to clear these thoughts."

"And what would you have me do?" Bilbo asked, genuinely curious.

"When it comes time for me to make a difficult decision, I take out a coin and place the desired outcomes on each sides. I toss the coin in the air and whichever side I hope it lands on is the one that I should take as it is what I truly desire," Refridis explained taking out a gold coin and handing it to Bilbo, "You don't have to do it now. Just don't wait until you regret it."

With that Refridis got up and started walking back towards the entrance that was left slightly ajar before turning around, "Should you decide that you want to come along on this quest, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect you from harm. This company wishes for you to steal something from a dragon, something that is near impossible for even someone like me but I have learned many things over my years as a hunter that I am more than willing to pass on to you. You have my word for as long as I live."

"I-I- thank you Refridis. I will think about it," Bilbo said as he stared and turned the coin in his hands a couple times.

Refridis gave him a nod and went back inside, the hobbit following the Bosmer a few moments later and latching the door.

Bilbo had granted Refridis permission to use the spare guest room he had for the night as that was what they had originally agreed upon before the dwarves had arrived. Refridis did not need many hours of sleep so she was busy sewing the loose dragon scales onto her cloak with a needle made of dragon bone and thread made of woven Frostbite Spider silk when she heard an odd sound echoing through Bag-End.

It was a deep and mournful sound that filled her heart and it was only when she heard voices that she realized that it was the Dwemer. She put down her work and closed her eyes as she concentrated on the rich deep singing of the dwarves.

"_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long-forgotten gold_

_The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning in the night_

_The fire was red, it flaming spread_

_The trees like torches blazed with light"_

Refridis let out the breath she didn't realized she was holding and she felt pity for the dwarves and their lost home. Though she could never truly know how they felt, Refridis felt like she could understand where they were coming from, having lost her own memory so many years ago only to wake up as a prisoner being wheeled up to the execution block remembering only her name. She had searched for answers to who she was after Alduin's defeat but she never found anything, not even her name when she went through the birth records and family trees of all the cities and towns of Skyrim.

She shook her head, knowing it was better not to dwell on that particular subject as she attached the last scale, one of a frost dragon, to her cloak and tied off the string before cutting it with one of the daggers she had in her boots. She stared at her work, deliberately not looking at the black scale in the center, her skin prickling at the thought of who it had belonged to, before folding it carefully. Refridis repeated a simple enchantment she had put on the cloak to make it light as a feather after putting on the new scales. She had learned long ago that the cloak would be well over a thousand pounds with the amount of heavy scales that it was made up of but she refused to leave it behind and took it with her everywhere.

The moon was well past its zenith when she began to get dressed for bed, taking off her green tunic and letting the night air hit her skin. She slid her eyes to the mirror that was located at one side of the room, taking in the sight of her back which was covered with black scales that stopped at her shoulders but seemed to be spreading.

They had began to appear about two years after she found out that she was the Dragonborn and had immediately gone to Odahviing for answers, leaving Faendal to wake up that morning to a cold spot where she should have been. Odahviing had told her that he had only heard tales about what was happening to her and explained that according to legend, as a Dovahkiin used more and more of a dragon's power, their blood and soul would attempt to reflect their attributes physically while eating away at the person's humanity until they would completely forget who they were. Refridis had this story to be true during her battle with Miraak, the first Dragonborn, when she managed to knock off his mask with a well placed blow to the side of his head with her sword. To her horror, she saw that the edges of his face was covered in dark green scales, his eyes were serpentine with a glint of madness, his teeth had grown pointed, canines overgrown, and that he had the beginnings of horns growing through unkempt blond hair.

After the corrupted Dragonborn was destroyed by Hermaus Mora, Refridis had been terrified of the prospect of losing herself that she made a promise to not use the words of power unless absolutely necessary. Over time, she learned that each time she used a Thu'um there would be a small period of time where she could not control herself and she would lash out at anyone who was in the area with draconic brutality. Faendal had managed to bring her out of these spells by refusing to let her attack others and holding her until she regained control. He had gained more than a few scars to show for these bouts of madness. After he had died, Refridis, in her grief and anger, allowed herself to be controlled by her bestial side, shouting and attacking anyone who attempted to go near her. It was only when Odahviing received news of his friend's state of mind that he flew to the caves she was hiding in and forced her to regain her senses. By then, the scales had climbed from the middle of her back and covered her shoulder blades.

"_As long as I do not become like Miraak, I do not care for what I look like,"_ Refridis thought as she put on a nightgown, covering the shining scales from view, and laid down in her bed to sleep until dawn.

The next morning she woke up at first light to quiet chatter in the dining room. She quickly got prepared, putting on her white tunic along with her brown vest, black pants and boots. She brushed her hair quickly and expertly braided it into her preferred style which allowed her ears to hear better now that hair wasn't covering them. She grabbed her things and looked around the room, searching for things that she might accidently leave behind before she exited and quietly walked through the hall, being careful not to wake up Bilbo who still had his doors closed and that Refridis could hear snoring gently.

She gave a brief good morning, grabbing an apple that had somehow survived last night's feast and walked outside of Bag-End, unaware of the storm she had just started.

Thorin turned towards Gandalf, his face dark before saying in a dangerous voice, "You did not tell me that she was an elf."

_**Man. I just looooveee cliffhangers so expect a lot more of them ;D**_

_**Hopefully the whole slowly turning more Draconic as the more power she uses isn't too unbelievable and it was actually something I thought of while fighting Miraak a couple of months ago before I even had the premise for this story. I threw it in there because it may or may not play a large part in what I have planned for later in the story. It was also a good reason to explain why she would hide her Dragonborn abilities. Just to clarify, she can use dragon tongue without consequence (which is why she can talk to Odahviing without going crazy) but if she uses it with the intent of a Thu'um is when the effects kick in.**_

_**Again, no dragon translations this time! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are always welcomed and criticisms or questions will be answered next chapter. :)**_


	7. First Day

_**Hey guys! Sorry this was a bit late, I have family over for the next week and college has already been putting my ass in gear even though I just started yesterday (which was when this chapter was supposed to be out). Chapter updates might be a bit spotty the next couple of weeks until I get into a comfortable schedule so please bear with me~**_

_**Thank you to Mr. Review, DecrepitSoul, Victor, Guest, Sarah, Basia Orci, Ny'Kle, Liliesshadow, JustKeepSmilingRainbows, and Poekie117 for their reviews, comments and critisims! I am always overjoyed to read them and some of them really give me an ego boost.**_

_** To DecrepitSoul: I answered you in a PM so you already know my thoughts on your comment ;)**_

_** To Victor: Glad you liked that last chapter! And yes, there are a lot of little details put in this that may seem insignificant at first but will come in to be major players later in the story. Also, I am totally not offended by your LOTR comment earlier, I was actually thinking about it very minorly before I started writing the story but now I know that there might be interest for a possible sequel. We will just have to wait see how the story pans out. Thank you so much for your kind comment and I am glad that you consider my story to be good enough for you to think that it is a masterpiece. Also for your other review, let's just say that there are some MAJOR differences between Skyrim's creatures and Middle-Earth's creatures that will take Refridis off-guard and flip everything she knows upside down.**_

_** Guest: Thank you for opinion on a more draconic Dragonborn! I am glad that the idea seems to be pretty well accepted and that no one has said that it is too "far-fetched" to fit into the lore.**_

_** Ny'Kle: It might take a while before that point in the story but I do have some special plans that take Odahviing into account! He's not just there to look pretty~ ;)**_

_** Liliesshadow: Thanks to you too for your imput! Yes, I have seen some Miraak fanart (and might have contributed a bit too).**_

_**In addition to all that, I made a quick drawing of Refridis! I have to warn you now, I am not the best artist but I am slowly learning. Just enter "Refridis Silduaan" in Deviantart's search box and it should be the only result that pops up or follow the link on my profile page.**_

_**So after all that, I hope you enjoy this new chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**_

_**The Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim belongs to Bethesday, Refridis belongs to me!**_

* * *

Refridis had been outside preparing Vokun for their journey when she heard the door to Bag-End open and footfalls joined the quiet murmuring of the dwarves as they approached. She chalked up their quietness to not wanting to wake up the entirety of Hobbiton and continued packing things onto her black horse. It was when she turned around to ask Gandalf a question that she realized that she was being given venomous and distrustful stares by the majority of the Company as they readied their ponies.

"I'm sorry but I have to ask, what have I done this morning that is making you all to look at me in that manner?" Refridis asked after a few moments, uncomfortable with the looks.

"You are an elf." Thorin said in a low voice that was filled with anger.

"Yes and you all are dwarves. Is there a problem with my heritage?" the Bosmer questioned, crossing her arms and standing up straighter, already knowing what the issue was.

"Indeed there is. We have much cause not to trust elves as they have wronged us deeply in our greatest time of need and we have never had an elf offer help to us since Smaug took Erebor." Thorin explained, his voice rising slightly.

"I do not know what troubles you have with the elves of this country but rest assured that I have nothing to do with them," Refridis said while looking at the dwarven leader with narrowed eyes, "Do not allow your past experiences with those of my race to influence your judgment of my skills and loyalty. I have signed a contract and am bound also by my word that I will help your company to get rid the Dovah that resides in your home. Save your ire for those who deserve it as the Mer are scrutinized enough as it is in my Skyrim."

"Mer?" Thorin asked.

"There are more than one species of elf where I come from. I belong to the Bosmer, also known as the wood elves. There are the Dunmer, Altmer, Orismer, and Falmer. Each is distinctly different from the other and to call them all the same is to offend them."

"I do not care from which race of elf you belong to. I will warn you now, should I suspect treachery of any sort I will not hesitate to take action," Thorin said coldly, getting onto his own ride and starting to walk away, the rest of the company following after him.

"It is acknowledged, you will have no worries of that kind with me." Refridis responded calmly.

_"By Nocturnal's Shadow, no wonder the Dwemer went extinct! Their pig-headedness and paranoia must have made them many enemies back in Skyrim. This is going to be a VERY long journey." _Refridis thought as she mounted her horse and kicked gently to move him forward.

* * *

She was riding alongside Gandalf, not wanting to be next to the dwarves who were complaining that their overnight stay at Bag-End was a waste of time and how hobbits were useless, much to her annoyance, when they started calling out bets about whether or not Bilbo would show up. Gandalf had joined in and called out that Bilbo would appear without a doubt before turning towards Refridis.

"And what do you think will happen?" He asked her, the attention of the dwarves focused on the two of them.

Refridis gave a sigh, "While I hope that Master Baggins remains at home safe, sound, and away from the threat of the Dovah, something tells me that we will be seeing him very soon. I bet five coins against anyone who denies that he will show up."

Some of the dwarves gave a slight chuckle as most of them had bet against Bilbo showing up and the prospect that an elf would owe them each five coins filled them with glee. That idea however was shattered when they heard a small "Wait!" coming from behind them. They stopped their horses and soon enough Bilbo passed them, gasping for air as he handed the contract to Balin.

"I signed it!" the hobbit said as he attempted to catch his breath.

Balin took out a pocket-glass and scrutinized the contract to be sure that nothing was changed or scribbled out before giving Bilbo a smile and stamping it, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

While some of the dwarves gave a loud cheer, Thorin simply looked on, unimpressed, before ordering, "Give him a pony."

Bilbo immediately started, "No, no, no, no, that-that won't be necessary, thank you, but I-I'm sure I can keep on foot. I-I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once- WAH!"

The hobbit's speech was cut off as Fili and Kili rode alongside him and picked him up from behind to put him on a pony.

"Glad to see you here Mister Boggins!" Fili said, purposefully calling the hobbit by the wrong name.

"Many of us didn't think you would come!" Kili added on in the same joking tone.

"Its Baggins!" Bilbo responded as he was plopped down on his ride and grabbed the reins out of fear of falling off.

The two brothers just laughed and went back into their spots and Refridis took this opportunity to make Vokun ride alongside the tawny colored pony that Bilbo was placed on, "Hello Master Baggins. You know, I wasn't quite expecting to see you here so soon."

Bilbo gave the pony he was riding on a terrified look before he turned towards her with a slight smile, "I wasn't quite sure myself. I woke up this morning to silence and a cleaned house, almost thought that it was all a very bad dream. It was only when I saw the contract lying on the table that I really started to think about the quest. I used your little coin trick but I already knew my decision the moment it left my hands."

Refridis returned the smile, "I am glad that my coin was able to help you decide. You should keep it; you never know when you might need to use it again."

Bilbo was about to protest when his horse tossed its head and gave a small neigh that caused the poor Halfling to grip his reins even tighter out of terror. It was at that moment when Oin spoke up.

"Come on, Nori pay up. Go on." The dwarf with the hearing trumpet said.

Nori gave a small look of frustration before he tossed a sack of money to Oin who gave a small exclamation much to the amusement of the others. Right after the first pouch was passed, the air was suddenly filled with money passing between the dwarves.

"Keep your coins, I have no need of them at the moment," Refridis said, quickly realizing that she was about to be bombarded with coin purses and trying to get onto their good sides.

The dwarves gave her a variety of responses varying from relieved looks to scoffs, as if they were ever thinking of actually giving her their coins. Refridis simply gave a quiet sigh and looked towards the tree line, wondering where Odahviing might be hiding and listening in to the conversations of the group.

After the whole exchange, Bilbo piped up and asked with a confused look, "What's that about?"

Gandalf snapped out of his thoughts and responded, "Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

Bilbo gave him a questioning look, "What did you think?"

The Grey Wizard simply gave a small hum before catching a sack of money that was tossed his way and placed it into his bag with a smile before turning to the hobbit, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Bilbo was about to comment when he let out a mighty sneeze, "Ohh, all this horse hair, I'm having a reaction."

He patted and checked his pockets, looking for his handkerchief but when he was unable to find it he looked around panicked before exclaiming, "No, no, wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around!"

The entire company came to a halt and the dwarves started objection to their temporary stop and asked what the problem was. Refridis was cut from her musings and she turned towards Bilbo with an eyebrow raised , wondering if the hobbit had come to his senses and realized that he was about to make a journey to fight a fire-breathing monstrosity.

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf said, very concerned about the hobbit's sudden order.

Refridis had to fight back the urge to let out a frustrated growl when he said, "I forgot my handkerchief…"

Bofur, good-naturedly, ripped a strip of cloth from his clothing and tossed it to Bilbo, "Here! Use this."

Bilbo caught the rag and immediately gave it a look of disgust while holding it as far away from him as possible. The dwarves began to laugh at his antics and the ponies began to move forward again.

Thorin gave the Halfling a look of annoyance before ordering, "Move on."

Gandalf gently scolded the hobbit saying, "You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."

With that Gandalf moved forwards toward the front of the train of ponies and Refridis slowed her horse down so that it matched the pace of Bilbo's pony. She took out a small square of clean, light blue cloth from her bag and handed it to him with a small wink.

Bilbo gave her an appreciative smile and rubbed his runny nose with it, "Thank you very much Ms. Silduuan, that was very kind of you."

"Think nothing of it," Refridis said, "and please, call me Refridis. Almost nobody calls me by my last name unless they are very unsavory characters who recognize me, mostly the Dov."

Bilbo gave her a blink of shock, "Dragons can speak?"

Refridis gave a small chuckle, "Oh yes they can, they are unfortunately not just firestorms and thunderous roars. They prefer to use the tongues of humans to communicate but they do have a language of their own which they use while they fight. There is no distinction between a debate and combat to a dragon as being correct is the same as being powerful and fights between Dovah are often just arguments that got out of hand. The words of a Dovah in their own language can have very deadly effects as that is where their power stems from."

Bilbo did a small nod, trying to understand her words, "So for this dragon I am facing, should it be awake, I should try to stop him from speaking?"

"No, no, quite the opposite actually. If he is speaking to you in common tongue then he cannot attack you. It is when it starts to try to get as close to you as possible and starts saying things that you do not understand that you should be worried. I would say that in order to try to prevent an attack, I would try to work its ego as Dovah are very vain and proud creatures by nature. While I highly doubt that it will stop an attack, it will spare you some time to think of a way to escape or for help to arrive," Refridis informed him, "I will teach you some more tricks that you can use when facing a Dovah. Let us just hope that you never have to use them."

Bilbo swallowed hard out of nervousness before looking ahead and commenting, "We should probably catch up. I don't think they would appreciate it if we fell behind."

The Bosmer gave a hum of approval and kicked her horse into a slow trot so that Bilbo's pony could keep up and the two quickly closed the gap that was forming between their party.

As they travelled further and further away from Bilbo's home, Refridis began to worry about the distance between her and Odahviing. He said that he was capable of hearing her from leagues away even if she just whispered his name but she couldn't help her nervousness. She glanced up into the sky but knew that she would not find the red Dovah circling above them as the air contained nothing but sunshine. Normally the sun would have made her smile but it was cloudy weather that she currently wished for.

She gave the dwarves a quick glance, _"Now there is another issue I have to deal with. I need to speak to Odahviing about what we are to face and tactics. Maybe Smaug is a Dovah that survived the Dragon War and flew across the ocean to Middle-Earth. Odahviing might know of him. I might try sneaking away tonight to talk to him as I have a feeling that these dwarves are rather heavy sleepers._

* * *

The day passed quickly and they rode for many miles through forests, hills, and plains. Refridis had admired their beauty and was reminded of Skyrim on a nice, sunny day without the cold rain or snow that often fell down on the northern country. The smell of the fresh grass as the ponies stomped it down filled the clean air and Refridis closed her eyes, feeling the sun shining on her skin and warming her.

"_What a beautiful day. Back in Skyrim, I would have taken Frost out for an easy day of hunting in Whiterun's plains before finding a good spot to lay down to catch some of the sun's rays," _Refridis thought wistfully, "_The Dovah would be too busy warming their scales to even bother flying or attacking people. "_

The Company approached what seemed to be a slow moving river from the surface but Refridis knew from personal experience with the way the water moved that there was a strong undercurrent. Thorin, however, had decided that the area was shallow enough to ford and soon pushed ahead.

Refridis was about to call out that it was a bad idea when one of the ponies that was carrying most of their provisions lost its footing on the slippery river rocks and was quickly being swept away downriver. Before the Bosmer had time to react to the panicked whinnies of the dappled pony, both Fili and Kili jumped in after it and the river took them as well.

"Oh for the Aedra's sake," Refridis cursed and kicked her horse to chase after them along the riverbank as the other dwarves yelled in surprise and concern.

* * *

_**~Kili's POV~**_

Fili and Kili had managed to reach the wide-eyed pony that was thrashing in the cold river water, fighting to stay afloat with the heavy cargo on its back. They gave each other a quick look of understanding and took out short daggers to cut the ropes that were keeping the provisions attached to the creature.

The pack was quickly removed from the pony and began to sink under the combined weight of the food and water. Fili grabbed the reins and was doing powerful strokes towards the edge of the river and Kili went to follow him only to find that he couldn't move and that something was dragging him towards the deeper part of the river.

He looked down and saw that several pieces of the ropes that they had cut from the pack had managed to wrap around and snare his leg and that it was bringing him along. As he attempted to call for help, the pack suddenly sank as it tipped over into a deeper point and he went under without a chance to get a good breath of air.

Killi was filled with a sense of dread as the water completely covered his head and he tried to cut the ropes that trapped him with the dagger in his hand. It was near impossible as the cold water had numbed his hands to the point that it was actually painful to bend or move them. His lungs burned and felt as if they were going to burst in their desperation for air and black spots were quickly taking over his vision.

Kili mentally cursed as the dagger slipped from his cold hands and sank. He couldn't hold his breath anymore and let out a scream of frustration with what little air he had. He clawed towards what he thought was the surface of the river as he was completely disoriented by the weightless environment but the ropes refused to give him up and dragged him further into the water.

"_NO! NOT LIKE THIS! NOT EVEN A DAY HAS PASSED SINCE OUR OFFICIAL START OF OUR JOURNEY!" _Kili thought desperately as he felt his body begin to give up little by little, _"I can't leave Fili behind! I can't die without seeing the halls of our forefathers. I beg of you Mahal, please… Not like this."_

As his last thoughts escaped him, Kili saw black and the last bubbles of air escaped him as water filled his lungs and something seemed to pull viciously at the ropes around his ankles.

* * *

_**~Refridis POV~**_

Refridis kicked her horse into a gallop, trying to catch up to the quick-moving currents as they swept away Fili, Kili, and the pony. They were in her view for a moment before some rocks covered them and the wood elf cursed in Dovahzul. She went around the rocky outcropping and saw Fili pulling the pony onto shore.

"Where is Kili?!" Refridis shouted as she all but jumped off her horse to help the soaked golden-haired dwarf lead the poor, exhausted creature onto dry land.

"What do you mean? He was… right behind me," Fili said coughing to clear his airway of water as he turned towards the river.

A silent understanding of the current situation his brother was in cause Fili to gain a horrified look and he shouted, "KEE!"

The dwarf started to run towards the river before Refridis managed to grab him by the shoulders and with a surprising amount of strength, threw him behind her so that he fell onto his back on the riverbank. The rest of the company was beginning to reach them when the Bosmer took off her leather vest, boots, and weapons, leaving just her thick white tunic, black pants, and hidden dagger, before diving into the cold river.

It took a couple seconds for her body to get over the shock as she went under the icy waters and she quickly looked around for any signs of life. She was about to rise for air when she saw a figure faintly struggling a little bit ahead of her. She kicked up and broke the surface to get a deep breath of air before diving down.

She saw Kili's struggles begin to grow weaker as she swam closer when a poisonous thought crossed her mind,"_If you let him drown, then he will never be able to prove your connection to the Dovah. It will be easy… just say that you couldn't find him… and when they pull out his body downstream he will already be long dead."_

Refridis shook that thought out of her head with an internal growl before continuing her swim to Kili's body and grabbed the ropes that trapped him. She pulled out a knife from her belt and quickly sawed through the thick ropes, seeing the dwarf's obvious struggle against the watery prison before pulling him free.

The Bosmer was having a hard time of swimming to the surface with the extra weight of her now unconscious companion and her relatively small frame. She looked at him and saw that the fur cloak on his back was weighing him down heavily and she made the decision to cut it loose. The water-soaked furs now off him, she shot towards the surface with strong kicks.

She gasped for air as they both broke the river's surface. She heard the dwarves yelling at her from upstream and swam towards their voices as her hair and water partially obscured her vision. She let out a sigh of relief when she could finally touch the river's rocky bottom and moved Kili into the fireman's hold as she stepped out of the freezing water.

She laid the raven-haired dwarf onto the bank as gently as possible, taking a moment to look at his incredibly pale face before leaning over so that her pointed ear was above his mouth as she felt for his breath and watched for his chest to rise. When neither of those things happened, she placed two fingers against his throat and checked for a pulse. There was nothing and a feeling of dread filled the wood elf.

Refridis began chest compressions, hoping desperately that it would be enough for the dwarf's heart to start beating again and to begin breathing on his own as restoration magic was useless in the case of drowning. She saw that she was getting no reaction at all and gently raised his chin so that his airway was clearer before taking a deep breath, pinching his nose, giving a quick prayer to the Divines that this would work, and meeting the dwarf's lips as she delivered a rescue breath.

It was only seconds later that Refridis was roughly grabbed and thrown off him. She snarled and turned to meet the venomous glares of Thorin and Dwalin.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing?!" Thorin yelled, outraged that an elf had all but kissed his nephew.

"Trying to save the damned life of one of your company!" The Wood Elf yelled back crawling to Kili's side and beginning chest compressions again.

It seemed as Nocturnal was smiling upon her as fortune would have it that Kili began coughing and attempting to vomit up water. The Bosmer turned him onto his side so that he wouldn't choke as river water rushed up from his lungs and onto the smooth stones next to him.

Once Refridis was sure that the young dwarf wouldn't die and would recover on his own, she got up and walked towards her abandoned equipment upstream, making sure she roughly pushed Thorin's shoulder as she walked passed him and angrily muttered a, "You're welcome."

Thorin roughly grabbed her forearm and pulled her so that she was facing him, "Don't ever do something like that again."

Out of anger, Refridis answered sharply, "And allow one of your company to die? Then don't make such a stupid decision ever again as it is by your instructions that this has happened. Even new adventurers know that just because a river looks calm doesn't mean it is. Be glad that he is even breathing right now as he was well on his way to drowning when I reached him."

The cold, wet wood elf shook her arm out of Thorin's grip and stormed pass the rest of the company who was giving her mixed looks of shock, relief, greatfulness, and disgust. As she approached her horse who was patiently waiting for her upstream, she let out a frustrated sigh while kicking a rather large rock into the river.

Though she had a heavy dislike for Kili she would not allow him to die, or any of the company for that matter. While Refridis took of her white tunic, leaving her thin undershirt still on, and replaced it with her new green one, her mind couldn't help but wander over to the rescue breath she gave the dwarf. It had not been since Faendal died that she had meet another person's lips, and she couldn't help but think that the dwarf was slightly attractive.

Refridis shook her head, growling to herself a reminder that said dwarf would probably be as ungrateful as their leader for saving his life, simply because she was an elf. She was simply giving him a breath that had saved his life, nothing more and she wanted nothing more to come of it.

* * *

_**No new meanings!**_

_**So I know that last little seen was unexpected but I read in the book that the two brothers nearly drowned on their way to Bilbo's house, so I just changed the timeline a bit so it happened afterwards. Hopefully there won't be too much outrage about that.**_

_**Just as a reminder that this is a slow-building relationship story! Just because relationship looking things happen early on doesn't mean that their consequences will be immediate, I'm here for the long haul ;)**_

_**Also, the CPR method used in this chapter is as realistic as possible and I based all the information off the classes I had to take when I was training to be a baby-sitter. Though I'm not sure that either worlds contained a formal way to save someone from drowning, I'm sure that they had their own tips and tricks.**_

_**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please remember to review, critique, or ask questiosn! I thrive off of them and get super excited every time I get a message that someone commented!**_


	8. Dragon among Us

_**Hello everyone! Wrote one that is extra long and that I was meaning to post as two separate chapters but I couldn't get it quite the length I wanted it to be so I just smushed them together. College is treating me nice enough so far that I think I am able to update weekly or bi-weekly though that might be subject to change in the future. Thanks to Ny'kle, DecrepitSoul, Basia Orci, JustKeepSmilingRainbows, Victor, Random Guest, and Fire of the Void for their reviews. Thank you to all of those who have followed and favorite and also thanks to the rest of who are just silently reading my story, as I never thanked you before! Now to answer some questions:**_

_**Ny'kle: Just you wait and see ;)**_

_**DecrepitSoul: Glad I could move your emotions like that and yes, for now Thorin is a bit of an ass. I'm sure that the rest of the Dwemer will warm up to Refridis soon enough~**_

_**JustKeepSmilingRainbows: While I do not mind the "love-at-first-sight stories" I am definitely a bigger fan of those that build up the relationships over time. Also, thank you so much for your comment on my drawing, you have no idea how happy that made me! As you probably heard; practice, practice, practice, is all it takes ;) As for the rest of your questions, you will have to wait and see! Also do you mind if I shorten your name down to JKSR for my responses?**_

_**Victor: Ah we will just have to wait for that won't we? I am pretty sure that they had some different methods to save someone if they were drowning but I just went with what I knew. I could probably make some lame excuse but it was more lack of research on my part (sorry!). Glad I could get you re-interested in the subjects of the story again!**_

_**Random Guest and Fire of the Void: Oh don't be so sure that Daedric Armor won't make an appearance. Refridis has quite a few tricks up her sleeves in the magical and powers department that she still has to show and will definitely be appearing during the story.**_

_**Anyway, on with the story!**_

_**Hobbit and Co. belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim belongs to Bethesda, Refridis belongs to me!**_

* * *

It was nearly sunset by the time Kili had recovered from the incident and Thorin decided that they would make camp on a nearby cliff face. Refridis had joined up with them a bit earlier and was attempting to glare holes into the back of Thorin's head the whole way up. They reached a clear area that gave a breathtaking look over the nearby woods and valleys. As they settled for the night, it slowly dawned on the others that the pony that Fili and Kili nearly lost their lives for was the one carrying most of the food.

"We will have to ration what we have and eat what we can hunt whenever we can. I am sure there is plenty of game in the woods so somebody needs to go out and get something for Bombur to prepare," Thorin said as he quieted down the exasperated grumbles of his company.

Refridis took this as her chance to talk to Odahviing and stood up.

"I will go. Might as well make myself useful since I couldn't save the pack as well," she said, purposefully giving an accusatory look in her leader's general direction.

Before Thorin could react to the comment, Kili quietly added on, "I should accompany her; it was my fault that we are now behind schedule. In addition, I am the only other one who knows how to effectively use a bow for hunting."

Refridis wanted to scream at him for volunteering but knew that if she denied his help she would look suspicious and she was already on edge with Thorin and the Company.

"That sounds agreeable; we will be able to catch more things between the two of us and perhaps even be able to smoke some for later for when food is scarce," the Bosmer responded, barely holding back her sarcastic tone.

Thorin had no choice to agree to let the two of them go together since they truly were low on food and he couldn't argue with their logic. He gave her a warning look as the two of them armed themselves with their bows and headed out into the forest.

It was shortly after they had began following some deer tracks just inside the forest that Kili spoke up, "Listen, I know we didn't exactly have the best of introductions but I could have sworn that it was you that I saw in Ered Luin. However, I cannot deny that I am more than thankful for you saving my life and I am sure that many in the company feel the same way and are just too stubborn to say anything. Could we start over?"

Refridis looked up from the tracks to search his eyes for any dishonesty or teasing. When she found none she stood up and gave him a slow nod and a small smile.

"Well then, I am Kili, son of Dis and nephew to Thorin Oakenshield, at your service!" the dark-haired dwarf reintroduced himself giving a comical bow.

Refridis looked at him with shocked wide eyes before quietly commenting, "Well that explains a lot," She shook her head and responded, "Anyways I, as you know, am Refridis Silduaan, famed Dovah-slayer of Skyrim."

"What do you mean that it explains a lot?" Kili asked, his eyebrow quirked in confusion as he stood up straight.

"That you are the nephew of our leader, I should have seen the similarities when we first met but I had other things in mind," Refridis responded, still trying to think of a plan to sneak away when she suddenly thought of something, "Say… do you think it would be a good idea for us to split up? We will be able to cover more ground in search of food. We should stay within earshot however, you never know what could be lurking in these woods and if we catch something too big for just one person to bring back we could help each other."

Kili looked around the woods and remembered how expansive they were from the cliff-face where the rest of the company was setting up camp.

He gave her a smile and responded, "Sounds like a plan to me. Should you run into any trouble just yell for me and I'll come running."

"I will hold you to your word!" Refridis yelled at him with a joking tone as he walked away from her into the forest.

Her smile immediately fell as he disappeared from her site and she turned the opposite direction, pulling up her hood and walking towards the darker part of the forest. She noticed in the low light of dusk that the moon was barely visible in the sky, perfect for Odahviing to fly undetected should he wish. She walked for a good ten minutes until she found a clearing deep in the woods and sat down, knowing that she would have to wait for the large red dragon to fly to her position.

"_Odahviing, bo nahlon ahrk soven, mu lost pogaas wah tinvaak dahvulo," _the wood elf whispered into the wind, knowing that her words would be carried for many leagues.

* * *

She only had to wait for five minutes before a shadow fell on the clearing and the Dovah landed silently with a surprising amount of grace for a creature so large. Normally when she faced a Dovah, they would land so forcefully that the earth would shake. With the speed he arrived, Refridis guessed that he had already been in the flying towards her location, following her scent.

"_**Eh mal ilit, I have been waiting for your call, my wings were getting stiff." **_Odahviing mumbled so that his loud voice would not carry beyond the clearing as he laid down and began cleaning his claws.

"_Krosis dii fahdon_, it was not my intention to make you wait so long but we have run into a problem," Refridis told him as she got up to stand next to him.

"_**Oo?" **_The mighty dragon questioned, looking up from his grooming.

"I thought that I would only have to convince the wizard who called me on this quest that you would bring no harm and would be of great help but unfortunately he has invited others. Fourteen in fact, and most Dwemer no less! I did not know that they still existed in the world. Apparently the Dovah I have to face has stolen their home and they wish to recover it." Refridis explained to him, "They are not fond of your kind but then again not that many are."

"_**Eh, this is quite a diron I agree. What will you have me do? Daal wah Keizaal?" **_Odahviing asked.

"No, no, of course not. I hope I am not forcing you to stay but I feel safer knowing that you are close by in case these Dwemer cannot handle what fate throws at them," Refridis responded quickly, "besides, who know what differences the Dovah have here. You saw how difficult it was for me to fight when I first saw that Serpentine Dragon on Solstheim. I do not want to be caught unprepared again. I may be unable to die but it doesn't make it any less unpleasant to be burned to unconsciousness by dragon fire."

Odahviing grumbled in agreement before asking, _**"Daar Dovah, does he have a name?"**_

"Yes I think the Dwemer mentioned a name. Smog, Smoug, Smaug? Smaug that's what it was," The Bosmer answered.

Odahviing gave a quiet snarl before Refridis suddenly reminded him to stay quiet, "I am certain they would have heard that, I can pass it off as thunder as I smell a storm coming. I take it you know the Dovah?"

"_**Yes, I know him and that is not his true name. His real name is Sahmungrah and rok los vax wah dov," **_Odahviing all but spit his name before continuing, "_**I am embarrassed to call him my kliinzeymah."**_

Refridis looked at him with surprise, "He is your brother?"

"_**Geh, he is. I am surprised to hear that he is alive since tol nikriin went into hiding when the Dragon War began. He must have journeyed here to protect himself," **_the red Dovah answered, "_**Daar los ahkon vutharaak. If he has been alive since the beginning of the War, he has probably grown incredibly large and powerful, perhaps even more so than Alduin since the World Destroyer was simply transferred forward in time rather than aged. Even Paarthurnax would be useless against him as he practically contained his soul and wasted away on the Throat of the World. We can only hope that my zeymah has not grown wise."**_

Refridís's stomach felt as if it had a boulder in it as she thought of fighting a dragon more powerful than Alduin. She sat down leaning against Odahviing's warm neck scales and gripping her head. The dragon turned and nudged her arm slightly, worried that the information might have been too much.

"_**Krosis if my news does not bode well. You have my claws and wings for your battle, I will stay and fight with you." **_Odahviing muttered, not wishing to send Refridis into despair.

"_Zu'u nox hi, Odahviing._ I am glad to have you at my side." Refridis answered taking his muzzle gently in between her hands leaning her head forward so that it bumped against the dragon's.

In a rare show of affection from the great serpent, Odahviing closed his eyes and let out a puff of warm air into her face before raising his head out of her grip and looked in to the woods, "_**Tell me more about hin zeymahzin. I might as well know what I am hiding from."**_

Refridis gave a groan before responding, "The Dwemer are some of the most stubborn, pig-headed creatures I have ever met! Absolutely paranoid about anyone who isn't one of them. By the way, remember how you said that we would never see the man who found us in the cave? Do you who I had to save from drowning today? Yes, you guessed it, the very same Dwemer! And what did I get? Their leader nearly breaking my arm for saving his nephew!"

Odahviing looked down at the ranting wood elf as she continued on and stayed silent as she explained her journey thus far. He quickly learned the names of his friend's many companions and reminded himself to secretly check on them from time to time to make sure that they were trustworthy.

"At least Kili had the decency to thank me afterwards and I still am getting nasty looks from some of them!" Refridis finished with a huff, her face red with frustration.

"_**I do not envy you mal ilit, it is for those very same reasons why Dovah prefer to stay away from one another. Just know that if you need anything I am simply a call away. I suggest you go back however, it is beginning to be very dark and I would not want you to be suspected due to your relationship with them." **_Odahviing said gently nudging her to stand up.

"I guess you are right," Refridis answered with a sigh as she got up, "I have to take down some prey so that I have something to show when I get back. Could you smell and see if you can scent a deer or something of a similar size?"

The red Dovah raised his head into the air and took in a mighty breath before shooting a threatening glance towards their right. "_**I believe we have company." **_ He said with a small growl.

Refridis raised her bow in the direction before calling, "Come out now and I will decide whether or not to kill you after you explain yourself."

Her raven-haired hunting companion walked out of the brush with an accusatory look and his bow raised. Upon seeing him, Refridis gave a frustrated growl before looking up into the sky while lowering her weapon.

"_Los hi yirt zey!_ The divines must hate me," Refridis cursed before turning towards Kili, "Well, what are you going to do now? Run off to Thorin and tell him you were right about me? That I am not to be trusted?"

"And what, let the dragon burn me alive as I run? I knew I was right about you. I knew that it was you I saw," Kili spat back.

"Odahviing will not attack anyone unless I order it or he finds a good reason to. You are perfectly safe in his presence as you were back on the mountain when you ran off." Refridis responded calmly.

The Bosmer stared at the dwarf as a myriad of emotions passed on his face. It would be an understatement to say that she was absolutely shocked when he lowered his bow, curiosity winning whatever internal battle he was facing.

"So Odahviing is his name?" Kili asked tentatively.

"_**It is," **_Odahviing responded, his head towering over the dwarf, "_**You may walk forward. As mal ilit said, I will not bestow harm upon you should you come with no ill intent."**_

Kili walked forward slowly until he was a little bit away from the foot of the dragon. He had grown up on the stories he had heard from his uncle about dragons that painted them as vicious and unforgiving, yet here one was in front of him, relaxed and observing him quietly for any hostility. He turned towards Refridis only to see that the wood elf had an exhausted look on her as she rubbed her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Kili asked, making sure to keep one eye on Odahviing.

"How long were you hiding there." Refridis simply asked as she looked up at him.

"I heard a deep rumbling and came here as fast as I could. When I saw you conversing with the dragon I stayed hidden. I heard everything from when you mentioned that Smaug was this dragon's brother." Kili blurted out.

"So you heard my ranting about the company." Refridis said.

"Yes, and I do take a bit of an offense to how you described us but that is not the point. For Mahal's sake, you have been hiding a damned dragon!" Kili said, pointing to Odahviing.

"_**Watch yourself, dilfahliil." **_Odahviing growled.

"And I will continue hiding him from the company as long as you keep your mouth shut. Since you have been eavesdropping on us, you heard that he would accompany us and be willing to fight in case your dragon wakes up. Your friend says that it is dead in the mountain but unless there is some kind of deadly disease here, Smaug is most definitely alive and just sleeping." Refridis informed him.

"You expect me to keep this all a secret from Thorin?!" Kili argued back, shocked at the prospect.

"Yes I do." Refridis snapped back before taking a deep breath and calmly saying, "Look, I know this has shattered what small amount of trust you have gained for me but you have to believe me when I say that Odahviing's presence here is a good thing. I was against Gandalf's choice in Bilbo accompanying us and I have little to no doubt that the dragon will wake up, no matter how good or silent hobbits are said to be at sneaking. Please Kili. I promise I will tell Thorin and the company when the time is right but please, for now, keep this just between us. It will be better in the long run I promise."

Kili observed her pleading face for several moments before letting out a defeated sight, "Alright but if I sense that you are lying to me about the company's safety with the dragon then I will tell Thorin immediately."

Refridis felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she couldn't stop herself from hugging the dwarf out of relief, "Thank you."

"So… do I get a ride?" Kili asked cheekily after he got over the shock of the wood elf's sudden closeness.

"_**I think not. I am not a horse and it is bad enough that mal ilit has placed this saddle on me." **_Odahviing grumbled back.

"Maybe one day, but for now we must return to camp. It has been far too long since we left the company and they most likely are wondering where we are. Thorin may not be so understanding should he be part of a search party and find us coherting with a dragon." Refridis answered as she walked away and picked up her bow, "You didn't happen to bring anything down have you?"

"There is the deer whose tracks we were following that I took down not to far from here. I shot it before rushing over here." Kili responded.

"Good, at least we have an excuse for our lateness," Refridis answered before turning to Odahviing, "I will try calling for you again when it is safe and we are in a good place for you to hide. I suspect it might be a little bit easier now that I have a friend on the inside to cover for me. _Fey tirahk lokzeymah."_

"_**Kiibok hin siifur tolaas, mal ilit. I also thank you dilfahliil for keeping my existence unknown. " **_Odahviing responded before taking off to find a good hiding place as plain daylight would have made his red scales very visible from the cliff-face.

There was a moment of silence shared between Refridis and Kili as they watched the crimson dragon fly away.

"I am placing a lot of trust in you. Please do not make me regret it." Refridis said with a sigh.

"You have my word as a descendant of Durin." Kili responded, "Come on, let's not make the others wait."

* * *

They walked back with a comfortable silence between them and managed to find the deer before any other creature could tear it apart. Refridis made quick work of taking out the unwanted pieces while Kili stood guard knowing that the scent of fresh blood may bring them company.

"So… what language were you speaking to the dragon? I never heard it before." Kili asked, his curiosity stoked now that he was certain that there was no danger.

"It is Dovahzul, the language of dragons. Very difficult to master and understand, it took me centuries of research to be able to speak it fluently." Refridis responded as she prepared the deer to take back.

"Centuries? Exactly how old are you?" the dwarf asked.

Refridis gave him a hard stare, "Don't you know it is rude to ask a lady her age?"

Kili gave an embarrassed blush, "Sorry. What was it that he called me? Dilfahliil?"

"It's nothing to be offended by, it is simply means dwarf," Refridis said finishing up, "You're accent when speaking the language is absolutely atrocious by the way. Here, we should start taking this back."

Both Kili and Refridis picked up the skin wrapped venison and started to walk back.

"Well sorry, not all of use could spend time learning a language that doesn't even exist here…also, I've been meaning to ask, how did you know what to do when I was…drowning? I don't think I ever learned the method you used," Kili said with a slight red tinge on his face.

"I meant nothing by our lips meeting, it was simply a way to save your life so don't get any ideas," Refridis warned him before continuing, "You tend to learn different things when your children are running around getting themselves into trouble."

A thick silence fell on them as Refridis realized what she said and looked away. Kili stared at her in confusion, "Children?"

"Adopted. Human orphans of a civil war that ravaged my homeland," the Bosmer said quietly as she refused to meet his eyes, "I found them abandoned in cities, nearly frozen to death and took them under my wing when no one else would."

"What were their names?" Kili asked softly after a moment, hoping he wasn't going to be scolded for intruding into her personal matters.

"Sofie and Lucia," Refridis said with a gentle smile, "my two little flower girls. Sofie would always bring me something fresh from the kitchens that she had learned to bake with my housecarl while Lucia would bring me something she had found while exploring the woods around our home."

"And where are they now?"

Refridis 's face gained a somber look, "Long dead. It's been many years since the day I took them in. I sometimes visit their descendants to make sure they are being taken care of properly when ever I have the time."

Kili was about to give his condolences when Refridis announced that they had arrived and an invisible mask of indifference seemed to take over and hide her true emotions and thoughts. He had never noticed it before but now that he had gotten to know his elven companion a bit more, its existence was painfully obvious. While he felt happy that Refridis trusted him enough with her secret companion and was opening up to him, he still felt a twinge of disappointment that she felt the need to hide her emotions from the rest of the group. She was actually quite pleasant as a friend and hoped the others would be able to see that eventually. He already knew some of the group who had respect for her, even with her heritage.

Speaking of the rest of the group, how in Mahal's name was he going to hide what he found out from Fili? His elder brother was very observant and probably would immediately sense that Kili was hiding something from him.

"_I'll just try my best to redirect him." _Kili thought as they both reached the clearing.

"Finally, I was about to send out a search party." Thorin said as they came into view.

"While I thank you for your concern, it was unnecessary for you to worry yourself," Refridis answered as she dropped her portion of the hunt in front of the ginger dwarf who would be making their meal, "The deer in these lands are much more clever than the ones in Skyrim. There you could practically hunt them by hand with how unobservant they are but the ones here actually need some skill to take down. You have your nephew to thank for the catch."

Thorin gave a small nod in Kili's direction before turning towards her, "We heard a loud rumble from the forest, you wouldn't have anything to do with it would you?"

Refridis scrunched up her face slightly in mock annoyance, "Surely even you can smell the rain coming this way? There is a storm brewing from the north, what you heard was probably thunder."

Thorin gave her a suspicious look, obviously not believing her fully before turning around and addressing the group, "Eat when it is ready and get plenty of rest, we travel quickly tomorrow. Fili, Kili, you take first watch. Nori, Dori, you take second."

* * *

It was late at night and the only ones awake were Gandalf, Bilbo, Refridis, Fili, and Kili. The wood elf had already inspected her swords to make sure that they were fully charged and sharpened. She was going through her ingredients pouch, throwing away anything that had withered or become useless for potions when she saw Bilbo get up and walk over to his pony. She gave a smile at the hobbit's terrible subtlety of sneaking the apple that he was feeding the pony he called Myrtle. She couldn't help but doubt Gandalf for his choice of burglar as even novice thieves at the Ragged Flagon were stealthier than the Halfling in front of her.

Her entire demeanor changed immediately when she heard a scream pierce the night air and Bilbo ran back towards the firelight. She unsheathed her sword Inferno and prepared for battle in case something was following the hobbit.

Behind her she heard a shaky whisper, "What was that?"

It was Kili who responded, "Orcs."

Another scream pierced the air before Bilbo whimpered, "Orcs?"

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili started and Kili continued, "They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood."

Refridis looked away from where the screams had originated from to see a very frightened Bilbo and two very amused dwarves who began laughing at the halfling's reaction.

She was about to scold them when Thorin, who she didn't realize had woken up, said, "You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?!"

The rest of the dwarves began stirring, wondering what the commotion was when Kili responded back in a low tone, "We didn't mean anything by it."

"No, you didn't." Thorin spat back while walking to the edge of the cliff to look over the valley they would travel tomorrow, "You know nothing of the world."

Refridis stayed quiet, knowing that if she said anything about being a Blood-kin to the Orc tribes back in Skyrim she would never gain the trust of the Company. It was strange however how they described them here. The ones who worshipped Malacath were much more showy with their strength and ferocity, she only met a few who would attack from the shadows and even then they would instill fear in their target before taking them out. She could probably count on her hands how many she had known to have peaceful occupations outside of their homes.

She looked at Kili who seemed hurt by his uncle's comment and gave him a look of sympathy as Balin walked between the two Durin brothers.

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first," the old dwarf began, "Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us."

Refridis flinched at the description of what she had no doubt was a large and bloody battle, memories of Skyrim's Civil War which contained devastating losses to both sides of the conflict clouded her mind. The only way to end the death and destruction during a time when dragons were a rising threat was if she stepped in, something she was not proud of as she regretted some of the decisions she had made looking back. She was also curious about the type of Orc that Balin was describing but had no desire to meet him. She turned her gaze towards Thorin, feeling some pity for him and understanding some reasons for his behavior and hostility, as she listened to the rest of the story.

"That is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent… wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. It was a short battle between the two and I was worried that the Orc would indeed fulfill his goal that day as he swung his mace to end the prince. Thorin had managed to grab a discarded sword and swung, cutting off his attacker's mace arm. Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

The rest of the camp was fully awake and actively listening as Balin finished his tale, "Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. As I looked around the battlefield covered with our dead I saw Thorin, holding the oaken branch that had saved his life and I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King."

Refridis let out a breath as the story finished, gaining a new respect for the leader she thought as selfish and ungrateful. The entire company was watching their leader in awe, some of them only having heard snippets of the story previously, as he turned and walked between them towards the fire with a grim look on his face, obviously not pleased with having had to relive his memories of that day.

Bilbo quietly asked, "But the pale orc? What happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came," Thorin said, his voice cold with hatred, "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

Refridis turned to look across the valley as Thorin ordered them to get rest, as they would leave at dawn. She squinted when she saw something moving in the distance and caught sight of what looked like to be a wolf running away into the brush on another cliff but saw nothing else. It was much bigger than the ice wolves of Skyrim and brought an uneasy feeling in her gut as usually where there is one, there are others. She could only hope that they would continue to head the opposite direction and away from the Company.

* * *

_**New Meanings (lots of them this time!):**_

_**Odahviing, bo nahlon ahrk soven, mu lost pogaas wah tinvaak dahvulo:**__ Odahviing, fly silent and secret, we have much to talk about_

_**mal ilit: **__little fox_

_**Krosis dii fahdon**_**: **_I apologize, my friend_

_**Diron; Daal wah Keizaal?: **__Problem; Fly back to Skyrim?_

_**Daar Dovah: **__The dragon_

_**Sahmungrah: **__Built up of the words Sahqon (Crimson), Munax (Cruel), and Grah (Battle). I wanted a name that sounded somewhat like Smaug that actually had meaning to it and if you say the name quickly and leave out the "rah" at the end you get something similar to the canon name._

_**rok los vax wah dov; kliinzeymah:**__ he is a traitor to dragonkind; hatchmate_

_**tol nikriin: **__The coward_

_**Daar los ahkon vutharaak: **__This is troubling however_

_**Zu'u nox hi, Odahviing: **__I thank you_

_**hin zeymahzin: **__your companions_

_**Los hi yirt zey?: **__Are you kidding me?_

_**Dilfahliil: **__Dwarf/Dwemer_

_**Fey tirahk lokzeymah: **__Stay safe sky brother_

_**Kiibok hin siifur tolaas: **__Follow your own advice_

* * *

_**Lots of things happening in this chapter and I'm pretty sure that this answered some questions that were asked. I wanted a little more interaction and distrust between Refridis and Kili when he saw her with Odahviing but I just couldn't think of a proper way to work it without having to change a couple major plot points later on in the story (which is partially the cause of why Odahviing's meeting and Thorin's story were not separated). I will probably begin editing the first couple chapters further down the line to get rid of plotholes and fix continuity errors (which I absolutely hate with a passion). Also fix things that make the characters seem a little ooc, which I hope hasn't occurred too much in this chapter.**_

_**Anyways, hope that you guys enjoyed reading the story so far! Remember to review/critique and that any questions asked will be answered next chapter~**_


	9. Of Magic and Trolls

**Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the fifty reviews and over 5,000 views. I honestly never thought it would get this popular. I was expecting maybe 10 or 12 for the whole story but holy shit this is way beyond my expectations. Anyway, I am glad that you all liked the last chapter! Thanks to Ny'kle, JKSR, Victor, Jerel Cheek, DecrepitSoul, Guest, Random Guest, and hi for your reviews! Thanks as well to the favorites, followers, and silent readers! Now for answering questions~**

**JKSR: Glad that you are excited for the story! We will see plenty of Refridis's reactions to things that are different in Middle-Earth as the story goes on, some comical and some serious. I already have Odahviing's appearance to the rest of the company planned but that might not be for a while. Kili will definitely have some problems hiding his secret from his brother but you will just have to wait and see how it pans out. Refridis definitely has some fears, the biggest being loosing control of her draconic side and being unable to protect those who she cares about. She has some other ones but those will be shown later in the story. Let's just say that it has been QUITE a while since the events of Alduin's defeat and that her exact age will be told in the future. It would definitely be interesting to see a reversal of locations. The company would probably be freaked out at how Skyrim's people react to a dragon attack, face it and then go on like nothing happened. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter~**

**Victor: It's alright, I posted this in the middle of the night (though I was a bit confused when I read Fili and not Kili but knew that it was probably a typo). It did take me a while to find a good dragon name for Smaug and no end of going through online translators to find something I liked and made sense. I also agree with you about the spots that are told of the battle between Azog and Thorin and it annoys me when authors don't fill in the spots that are shown in the movie rather than told (but that's just a little peeve of mine). I had to look up the origins of Orcs online as I don't have The Silmarillion but I do have to agree with you that their origins is in fact very sad (it kind of reminds me about the Falmer actually). The Daedra do have some minor parts in the story but they are quite aware of the Dragonborn's sudden absence in Skyrim ;) I plan to explore more of Refridis background as the story goes on so that readers can see what motivates her. Glad you liked it!**

**Jerel Cheek: Wow you must be reading my mind because you are very, very close to guessing some things that I have planned. But not quite there! Glad that you enjoyed the chapter and hello new reviewer~**

**DecrepitSoul: I was actually trying to think what kind of reaction he would have and flipping his shit was definitely one of the options I was thinking of taking but I think that since he's seen both of them before and that she saved him, he give her a chance to explain herself. As always, I'm happy to read your review and I understand about the late stuff (apparently FF has been having trouble with it so it's not just you missing updates)**

**Some one has PMed me about the multiple little grammar mistakes in the past chapters and I wanted to apologize for them. English is not my first language and I try to double- and triple-check the chapter before I post it but some always manage to get through. Alrighty now that that is done, here is the chapter you have all been patiently waiting for, enjoy~**

**Hobbit and Co. belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, Skyrim and Co. belongs to Bethesda, and Refridis belongs to me!**

* * *

_Pain lanced down her body as she looked around at the corpses that had piled up on the battlefield, the wails and moan of those injured echoing through the valley and fires dotting the landscape. The air was thick with the scent of blood and it choked her as she breathed in. A mighty shout brought her attention to the commotion happening behind her and she spun around, highly aware of the bloodstained armor that she was currently wearing. Her breath got caught in her throat when she saw a massive white dragon attacking Faendal who was protecting Sofie and Lucia behind him. He was sent flying back several feet as the dragon struck him on his chest with its spiked tail and it turned to face the two girls, both of whom were wielding ebony swords gifted to them by her on their eighteenth birthday._

_ Refridis attempted to rush and defend her daughters but was frozen in place. She couldn't even yell as the dragon barreled down on them breathing smoke and fire on her children. They fought bravely, managing to strike the beast several times so that a few drops of blood fell from his scales but the powerful dragon was too much for the girls and they fell before him. The dragon stood on its hind legs and stretched to its full height giving an ear-shattering roar of victory as it unfurled its snow-white wings before it bent down and grabbed the two in his jaw._

_ With a sickening crunch, her daughters were ripped apart and disappeared down the gullet of the beast. As blood dribbled down it's mouth it turned towards her and she found herself able to move again._

_ She fell to her knees, numbness overtaking her as she saw her family killed before her and she looked up at the creature that had done the deed. Its eyes were like chips of sea ice and they seemed to stare into her very soul._

_**"You never were able to save anybody you cared about could you? All those years of research and hiding and for what? How were your feeble attempts were at saving your daughters as they laid in their deathbeds, suffering of sickness? How… useless did you feel as the light faded from their eyes?" **__the great white Dovah rumbled with a hint of glee in his voice as he took in the Bosmer's tear stained face, __**"How very pathetic."**_

_ She felt a spark in her very essence as the dragon spoke. It took her numbness and turned it into rage. As she felt her anger rise, she began to hear the voices of the souls that were contained within her._

_ "_Tear him down!"

"Destroy those who go against us!"

"How dare he challenge our strength?!"

_Behind the rising voices, one rose from the depths of her being, a black sound that seemed to rattled her bones as it spoke,_

"_**Destroy them all. Leave no survivors." **_

_Fire. Pain. Screaming. Pain. Begs for mercy. Pain. Pain. Pain._

_ As her raging vision cleared up, she had to hold back a scream of horror as the white dragon had disappeared and been replaced by the burnt bodies and faces of the company who all stared at her._

_ Bilbo stepped forward, his skin charred black and he held out his blistered hands towards her, "Why did you do this to us? I thought you were protecting us!"_

_ Refridis held out her hand to reach for the hobbit and was about to beg for forgiveness when she saw that her fingers had turned into claws and her hand was covered in black scales. She looked down at her tattered armor and saw that scales covered every inch of her skin. The wood elf was only slightly aware of the strange weight on her back until they shifted and stretched. She looked back to see massive black wings unfurl and she gave a panicked look towards the company._

_ Kili walked forward and gave her a sad, betrayed look, "I thought you said that I could trust you…"_

* * *

Refridis gave a gasp as she jolted up in the cool predawn air and quickly reached over her shoulder to feel her back, praying to the divines that her scales had not progressed overnight. A sigh of relief passed her lips when she realized that nothing had changed and gave a quick glance around the camp to take in her surroundings.

Nori and Dori were chatting quietly, looking at the dying embers of the campfire and away from her so they could not have seen her reaction. The rest of the company was sleeping peacefully, if the snores were anything to go by, with the exception of Bilbo who was looking at the group with a look of frustration.

Refridis rolled up her sleeping bag and quietly walked over to where the hobbit was looking at the group before gently asking, "Did you get enough rest?"

Bilbo gave a slight jump before turning towards the Bosmer and grumbling, "Dwarves are loud when they sleep. I have no idea how anyone can get any rest with these lot. I managed to get a few hours of shuteye before I was woken before some rather loud and obnoxious sounding snores."

Refridis gave a quiet chuckle before looking at the sky and saying, "These dwarves are going to be in the same mood as you soon. We are out in the open and it looks like it is going to be quite a downpour."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth that the first few patters of raindrops begin to hit the stone around them and a gentle roll of thunder sounded. At the sudden wetness, the dwarves got up, many exclaiming sounds of indignation, and quickly packed their things.

Remembering how close the screams from last night were and the possibility of an Orc attack, she pulled out her Nightingale armor and began to secure it on top of her tunic. While she usually just wore her thin tundra-cotton shirt and black pants underneath the armor, she definitely was not going to undress in front of the company.

"_If we are going to be attacked, I might as well be prepared," _the Bosmer told herself as she slipped on her armored gloves.

She fastened her cloak on her shoulders and covered the bottom of her face with the armored mouthpiece but left the hood down as she packed her belongings. The dwarves who were on their horses were urging their companions to hurry up, hoping that the forest down below would grant them some cover from the quickly approaching storm.

She strapped her bag on Volkun and pulled up her hood when the tips of her ears began to get cold from the pounding rain and waited patiently for the stragglers to get on their ponies. The caravan began to move and everyone was grumpy from the rude awakening given to them by nature.

They quickly rode down from the cliff face and were trudging along the muddy forest floor as the sky continued to pour rain upon them. There was a cold breeze that passed them every now and then that made the weather even worse and Refridis could feel her horse shudder from the cold beneath her as the rode. This was not the hearty breed of Skyrim, who could walk through a blizzard with little complaint as their thick, shaggy fur would protect them from the biting cold. She was partially tempted to use some magika to summon a small flame to keep her and her ride warm but knew it would be unfair to the others so she dismissed the idea. She did, however, pull out a water pouch full of tea she had prepared at Bilbo's home, which she warmed up using a fraction of the magic used to conjure fire. She pulled down her mouth-cover and took a few sips of the warm, sweet drink that reminded her of the apple cider that was served at festivals during Frostfall back in Solitude.

It was only a few minutes after they set out that Dori called out, "Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

Refridis looked curiously towards the wizard, wondering if he could dispel the storm above them. She really did not know much about the wizard's capabilities but the way that the company described him made her believe he was incredibly powerful. Dispelling or summoning storms was something that only master magic wielders were capable of doing as it required a large amount of magic to bend the laws of nature. It was only recently that she learned how to do so without having to rely on the dragon shout to help her.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard," Gandalf grumbled, obviously affected by the weather as well.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.

Gandalf turned towards him and asked, "What?"

"Other wizards?" Bilbo further explained.

"Refridis has told you that she is the Arch-mage of the wizards college in her homeland but there are five of us that reside in Middle-Earth. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

Bilbo looked towards the Bosmer who was currently peering at him from underneath her hood sipping her drink, embarrassed that he had forgotten of her abilities before continuing, "and who is the fifth?"

Gandalf responded, "Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown."

Bilbo, without thinking, wondered out loud, "Is he a great Wizard or is he… more like you?"

Refridis had to stop herself from snorting out her tea in laughter as Gandalf looked at the hobbit slightly offended. She managed to pass off her mirth as coughing but she saw that the others she was riding alongside with were also grinning at the halfling's comment.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way," Gandalf started, "He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

The Bosmer decided that one day she would like to meet this Radagast as they would surely find many things in common. Her heritage as a wood elf allowed her to be closer to animals and even speak to them in some cases. They would come to her aid if she ever needed it and more than once she had calmed a raging bear whose hibernation nest she had accidently stumbled upon.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Fili asked her loud enough for the others to hear, "So Refridis, as an Arch-mage, could you get rid of this storm?"

She turned so that she could see him out of the corner of her hood before saying, "I can, but I won't."

Bofur spoke up from behind her and asked, "and why not?"

"Well if you wish for it, I certainly will but forcing nature to change in order to fit ones desires is not something that should be done lightly. Nature knows what the earth needs and like a mother, tends to those in her care. However, also like a mother, she can be very fierce when she cannot fulfill her duty and fights against those who endanger her charge. I can get rid of this storm now but be warned that we will face one that is much worse in the future if I do," Refridis explained, "I would be upsetting the balance that keeps this world alive and the consequences of it are always hard."

There was silence after she explained her reasoning of not clearing the storm and a heavy sigh of disappointment from several members. They would rather be cold and wet now than face whatever would happen if the storm were cleared.

The company continued to trek across the forest floor and Refridis thought back to the wolf she had seen last night. Normally she wouldn't worry about such a thing, as wolves were quite common in Skyrim's forested areas but this one made her feel on edge. This one was quite a bit larger than it's Nordic cousins but from what she could see, was also built differently. She just wished she could have gotten a better look at it before it had darted away.

Refridis took another small drink from her pouch and looked into the rainy sky that seemed to be letting up a bit. She wondered where Odahviing had hidden himself from the flood of rainwater, as she knew her friend despised the water and back home would fly to Evergleam Sanctuary in order to take shelter whenever it rained. It was very rare to see any dragon out during a storm, even those of who breathed frost.

The wood elf took a glance towards Bilbo who has riding alongside Gandalf when a vision of his burnt body from her dream filled her mind. She gave a violent flinch before shaking the thought away.

"_I need to show him some more tips on dealing with the Dovah. If Smaug is more powerful than Alduin there is absolutely no chance in Oblivion that Bilbo will be able to face him and come away alive. I promised to protect him. I will not fail him," _Refridis thought to herself.

She was about to kick her horse into a trot to speak to Bilbo about training when Kili's voice caught her attention as he called her name. She turned around towards the dark-haired dwarf and saw that he was motioning for her to come ride alongside him and his brother. She gave him a questioning look to which he simply urged her to come to them. Refridis pulled slightly on Volkun's reins so that he slowed down to a trudge and moved from the middle of the group to near the back where the two brothers were conversing.

"… lling you nothing happened last night. I'm just saying that Refridis is trustworthy and we need to convince the others as well," she heard Kili say as she got closer.

"What made you change your mind, her rescuing you from the river?" Fili responded in a teasing tone.

"Well that yes, but not for the reason you are alluding to!" Kili said, his face turning a bit pink.

"What is going on back here?" Refridis asked once her horse was parallel to their ponies.

"Tell Fili here that nothing happened between us last night! He's been pestering me about what happened since we returned from the hunting trip." Kili asked, making sure that his brother didn't see the pleading look he was giving the wood elf.

Refridis turned towards the dwarf with golden hair after shooting a reassuring look towards Kili and said, "Nothing happened between us, what makes you think something did?"

"Well you were gone for an awful long time to just return with a single deer is all I'm saying." Fili explained, a grin decorating his bearded face, "Plus, my brother here is not acting like himself after the trip."

"He's probably just embarrassed by the fact that he fell out of a tree while trying to get a better vantage point," Refridis quickly lied before looking at Kili.

Kili gave her a quick glare, before playing along and hissing, "You said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Refridis gave a shrug before answering, "You wanted your brother to leave you alone, now he knows."

Fili gave a loud chuckle before turning to his brother, "Is that all? Why wouldn't you tell me that you embarrassed yourself in front of an elf by falling out of a tree?"

"Because now I will never hear the end of it," Kili muttered as he kicked his pony forward and moved away from them.

After Kili had gotten far enough away, Fili turned towards Refridis and said, "I never got to thank you for saving my brother's life. I promised our mother that I would take care of him and I don't know what I would have done if I lost him. I apologize for my uncle's behavior towards you and want to let you know that not all of us thinks of you as he does."

Refridis gave him a nod, "I'm was only doing what is right, I will not allow someone to die if I can help it."

They walked quietly and the rain transformed from a hard patter to a gentle mist before the golden haired dwarf asked, "So you said you could change the weather with magic, is there anything else you could do?"

"There are plenty of other things I can do. I have studied magic for a very long time, even discovering some new spells that I share with my students at the college," Refridis answered.

"Could you show me one?" Fili asked.

The Bosmer thought quietly at what she could possibly show the dwarf that would impress him before a sly smile crossed her face, "You wouldn't happen to have anything made of iron or silver would you?"

Fili fumbled around his pockets for a bit before pulling out an iron dagger and handing it to her with a curious look on his face. Refridis held it in her hands, temporarily releasing Volkun's reins and concentrated. Within a few seconds, the dagger gained a brighter sheen and she handed it back to the dwarf.

Fili turned it over in his hands a few times before giving the wood elf a shocked look, "You turned it into silver."

"And I can do more. Hand it back to me," Refridis said, grinning.

It had been a while since she saw the face of someone who was shocked by what magic could do as everyone in Skyrim was used to mages doing all sorts of things. She took the now silver dagger from Fili and used a bit more magic to turn the shining silver into glistening gold.

Fili quickly took it out of her hand, inspecting it and looking at her in awe. Refridis moved her index finger to her mouth in a shushing movement and a quick wink before gently kicking her horse forward.

* * *

The day passed with relative ease after the rain had stopped and the air began to warm up. Refridis attempted conversations with the other dwarves, some of which were more than happy to talk and learn about their elven companion while others simply ignored her. It was quickly approaching sunset when they began to pass the ruins of an old, abandoned farmhouse.

"We'll camp her for the night," Thorin ordered, "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

Refridis heard Gandalf whisper in a sad tone, "A farmer and is family used to live here."

Thorin was telling Gloin to start a fire when Gandalf turned to their leader and said, "I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley."

Thorin stopped what he was doing and turned towards the grey wizard saying, "I have told you already, I will not go near that place."

"Well why not? The elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice."

Refridis's head perked up at the mention of other elves and she decided to listen in on the conversation that was going on behind her as she helped to unpack.

"I do not need their advice," Thorin spat, "Its bad enough we have to travel with one, I'd rather not be surrounded by them."

Gandalf tried to reason with the dwarf, "We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us."

"Help?!" Thorin whispered strongly before continuing in a rising voice, "A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orc plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing! You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father?"

"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past," Gandalf responded calmly, but Refridis could hear the frustration that was building up.

"I did not know they were yours to keep," Thorin said.

Refridis was not expecting for the wizard to angrily stomp pass her as he headed towards the woods ahead.

Bilbo looked up from his unpacking with a startled look on his face, not having heard the discussion that had just happened, "Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?"

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!" Gandalf yelled behind him as he walked away.

"Who's that?" the Halfling asked innocently.

"Myself, Mr. Baggins! I've had enough of dwarves for one day!"

Refridis was only slightly offended at the wizard's comment but knew that he needed sometime away to cool off. She was partially tempted to follow the wizard but the fact that they would be without a magic user in case of an emergency made her stay.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry," Thorin said to the ginger dwarf, ignoring the fading grey figure in the distance.

Refridis heard Bilbo whisper to Balin, "Is he… he is coming back right?"

The hobbit was only met with an unsure look and a shrug.

* * *

Night had quickly fallen since Gandalf left and Refridis was enjoying the soup that Bombur had prepared. He was one of the nicer dwarves who had allowed her to observe him as he cooked and even allowed her to add some dried snowberries after she explained to him about the restorative properties they held.

After the dwarves had saw her add the berries however, some refused to eat it claiming that they could be poisonous and were only satisfied that it was safe after the Bosmer ate a whole bowl of the concoction.

There had been idle chat before she heard Bilbo talking to Bofur in a worried tone, "He's been a long time."

"Who?" Bofur asked, smacking his lips after he drank out of his bowl.

"Gandalf," Bilbo clarified.

Bofur gave a chuckle before speaking, "He's a wizard! He does as he chooses!"

The hatted dwarf handed the hobbit two steaming bowls of soup, "Here, do us a favor: take this to the lads."

Refridis watched Bilbo disappear into the brush, confident that the two brothers could handle anything to protect the small man in case he should run into trouble. She turned around just in time to see Bofur cuff Bombur who had been reaching to grab another ladle.

"So lass," Balin began from across the fire, "you know plenty about us but we don't know much about you. Care to tell us a bit about your self?"

Whatever idle chatter had been going on stopped as the dwarves turned towards their elven companion.

Refridis shifted uncomfortably under their stares, making sure to keep her face guarded before asking, "Is there anything specific you would like to know?"

"Not in particularly, just tell us about yourself and where you come from. Maybe start with that strange armor of yours," the kindly dwarf added.

Refridis weighed the decision about whether or not to tell the company of the armor's origin as it's existence was supposed to be kept secret, but seeing as this was not Skyrim and they had no way of finding the location of the Twilight Sepulcher she explained to them, "This is the sacred armor of the Order of the Nightingales, a group of only a very few who have promised their life and service to the Daedric Prince Nocturnal. She is the deity of night, darkness, and luck and is also known as the Night Mistress or Lady Luck. She is the patron of thieves and spies but her shadowy powers are not meant to be harmful or violent. One of the other members of our order once described her to me as "a scolding mother who pushes her child to do better" and in all my years under her service, I have not found a better description than that."

Refridis cleared her throat, not wishing to further explain the shadowy faction before continuing, "Skyrim can be considered to be a very unforgiving place and the creatures living there even more so. Most places are covered in snow year-round and so the predators there adapt to the conditions," Refridis started, pulling out her snow bear cloak, "This pelt comes just from a single snow bear and you can tell by its size that it is a rather intimidating creature. Definitely not one that you want to have sniffing around your tent in the middle of the night as this one was.

The people there are also very hardy folks. The proud Nords make up most of the population and they are some of the most bull-headed people I have ever met. I don't particularly like them, some of the more closed-minded tend to believe that Skyrim is just for the Nords and mistreat anyone who is not one of them. However, there will always be those in life who you must work with even if they do not seem to appreciate the effort you put in," the wood elf strategically paused and looked around, with an eyebrow raised as some of the dwarves coughed and looked away.

"I do not like talking about myself that much but I can tell of the titles that I hold in my homeland. Many of them are rather pretentious and unnecessary and some I actually received by accident. As you know I am the Archmage of the College of Winterhold and as a result have a vast amount of knowledge, both magical and not. I am called a master marksman and…"

At that moment Fili and Kili burst through the brush with wild looks in their eyes.

"Grab your weapons, we must hurry!" Kili yelled at the group.

"What! What happened? What is going on?!" Thorin asked, having partially been listening to the wood elf's conversation, and grabbed his swords.

"Where's Bilbo?" Refridis asked rising and grabbing her bow.

"He's off trying to rescue our ponies from the trolls that took them!" Fili answered.

Refridis' heart skipped a beat in terror for the Halfling before giving a dangerous glare and yelling, "AND YOU LEFT HIM ALONE?!"

She dashed off into the brush where they had come from with the company behind her and she followed the dim light through the thick foliage until she stopped short before a clearing and observed the three massive figures that were chasing the poor hobbit around.

"What in Oblivion are those creatures?" She whispered fiercely to Kili who had kneeled next to her.

He gave her a confused look before responding, "I told you, they are trolls."

The Bosmer gave the dwarf a bewildered look, "Those aren't trolls. Trolls are large man-shaped hairy creatures with three eyes. These things look more like very fat giants than anything else."

"I have no idea what you are talking about but my guess is that what trolls are in Middle-Earth and what they are in Skyrim are two very different things." Kili responded looking back to the scene before them.

Refridis was about to comment on something when she heard a "Gotcha!" from one of the trolls and looked towards Bilbo, fear poisoning her heart as she saw him dangling from the fat fingers of the so-called trolls.

"Are there any more of you little fellas 'iding where you shouldn't?" the one holding the hobbit asked.

Bilbo gave a quick, "Nope" trying to struggle out of his captor's hands.

"'e's lying!" Another one cried out.

"No I'm not!" Bilbo asked, his struggles growing more desperate.

The Bosmer silently commended the hobbits courage and loyalty to the company but felt ice in her stomach when the one who called Bilbo a liar yelled, "Hold his toes over the fire! Make him squeal."

Refridis was trying to quickly construct a plan to rescue the Halfling when Kili ran out of the bushes with a mighty war cry and slashed at one of the trolls legs, making him howl and fall down.

_"Is he absolutely insane!? There is no way that the company can take on these three behemoths without loosing someone!" _She thought angrily, carefully climbing up a tree in order to not gather any attention to herself.

"Drop him!" Kili yelled at the troll holding Bilbo.

"You what?" the creature asked stupidly.

"I said," Kili repeated, glowering, "Drop. Him."

The troll gave a roar and threw Bilbo at Kili who dropped his sword in order to catch the Halfling. As they were both knocked down due to the force of the throw, the rest of the company charged out of the bushes yelling and brandishing their weapons. Refridis observed the trolls, trying to find a weak spot as the dwarves began hacking, slashing, and hammering their legs. She watched as Bilbo ran across the battle and grabbed one of the troll's knives and cut the ropes that had been keeping the ponies captive. Her breath got caught in her throat and she nocked an ebony arrow in her bow as one of the trolls grabbed Bilbo and knocked some of the dwarves away. The battle suddenly stopped when the dwarves realized that the trolls were holding Bilbo by the arms and legs.

"Bilbo!" Kili cried out in worry for his friend.

"No!" Thorin growled.

One of the trolls gave a toothy grin, "Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off!"

Refridis' bowstring taut and ready, aiming for the creature's head as she wished to kill it immediately if circumstances came to it and held her breath to steady her shaking hand. She was unsure if Thorin would lay down his arms for the hafling's life. Their raven-haired leader looked between his weapon and Bilbo before planting his sword into the ground with frustration. As the others dropped their weapons the trolls began to grab them and stuff them into bags, legs first so that their heads were still poking out.

She released her breath and lowered her bow, putting the arrow back in its quiver and watched the chaos unfolding beneath her.

* * *

Kili looked around in the trees from the position he was thrown in the pile, searching for red eyes in the darkness. It was on one particular branch that he saw the wood elf looking down at them, waving her hands trying to get his attention. He gave her a questioning glance as she motioned him to be quiet. She grabbed something out of her bag and wrapped it around her. The thing gave off some smoke before it disappeared, taking Refridis with it.

He laid helpless on the heap of dwarves as the trolls began to talk to each other about how they would eat them.

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on 'em and squash 'em into jelly," one of them said.

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," the one holding a ladle responded.

From the spit that was slowly being turned, Dori cried out, "Is this really necessary?!"

"Ooh, that does sound quite nice!" the first one said.

From the pile of dwarves tied in bags Oin and Gloin were yelling at the trolls, "Untie us, you monster!" "Take on someone your own size!"

Kili's attention was brought away from the struggling dwarves towards the fire that was roasting his companions. The hot flames that were dancing merrily a few seconds ago was slowly being turned into crackling ice, dropping the temperature of the clearing drastically.

"There's a slight chill in the air, OY. WHAT 'APPENED TO THE FIRE?!" the troll who had pulled out a handkerchief cried out.

"Now we'll have to find some dried wood to restart it," another moaned.

"Never mind the fire or the seasoning! We ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone."

Kili was surprised when Bilbo suddenly cried out, "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!"

Dori cried out to the hobbit, slightly more comfortable now that a fire was threatening to cook him alive, "You can't reason with them, they're half wits!"

He heard Bofur mutter to his friend, "Half-wits? What does that make us?"

Bilbo somehow managed to get enough coordination in order to stand up in his sack and he faced the trolls, "Uh, I mean with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning!"

"What about the seasoning?" the ladle-bearing troll asked.

Bilbo looked around slightly flustered before saying, "Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

Kili felt highly offended at the hobbit's explanation. How dare he talk to their enemy, and give them cooking tips no less! He certainly did not feel like becoming some trolls late night meal! And they certainly did not smell with the recent bathing they had received from this morning's downpour. Apparently the rest of the company shared Kili's thinking as they began calling Bilbo a traitor and the ones in sacks attempted to kick him down.

One troll roared at the dwarves to silence them before turning to the hobbit, "What do you know about cooking dwarf?"

"Shut up," the one carrying the ladle said, "and let the, un flurgaburburrahobbit talk."

The trolls were looking at Bilbo expectedly as he scrambled for an answer, "Uh, th-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um-"

"Yes? Come on."

"It's, uh-"

"Tell us the secret!"

"Ye-yes, I'm telling you, the secret is," Bilbo paused for a moment, "to… skin them first!"

The troll who had been urging on the Halfling turned around, "Tom, get me the filleting knife."

There was a large outcry from the dwarves as they threw insults towards Bilbo. Unbeknownst to them, their wood elf companion had returned from her search for Gandalf and was currently trying to get the hobbit's attention. Bilbo saw them slipping behind some trees and Refridis' signal to carry on with his distraction. He gave her a quick nod before returning his attention to the trolls in front of him that were getting rowdy once again.

"What a load of rubbish!" the one called Tom exclaimed, "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all!"

"'e's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" another one agreed as he grabbed Bombur from the pile and dangled him upside down over his mouth, "Nice and crunchy."

Bilbo saw the dire situation and yelled the first thing that came to mind, "Not-not that one! He-He's infected!"

"You what?" Tom asked.

"Yeah! He's got worms in his… tubes." Bilbo responded.

The one holding Bombur dropped him back in the pile of Dwarves in disgust backing up quickly.

"In-in fact," Bilbo continued, "they all have, they're in-infested with parasites! It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

The dwarves were looking at each other in confusion.

"Parasites, did he say parasites?" Oin asked to himself.

"We don't have parasites!" Kili cried out, "You have parasites!"

"What are you talking about, laddie?" Gloin asked.

The rest of the dwarves began to chime in to the growing crowd, crying out that they didn't have parasites and how foolish Bilbo was. The hobbit rolled his eyes as the dwarves slowly messed up his plan. He just hoped that whatever the two wizards were planning, that they would do it soon as his dwarven companions seemed to be as thick as the stones they mined. Thorin had seen Bilbo's eyeroll and understood his plan. He gave a swift kick to the others and a look. There was a moment of silence as it only took them a few seconds to understand that this was a distraction and they all started to play along. Soon, all the dwarves were proclaiming about how they were riddled with parasites.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Oin yelled.

"Mine are the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" Kili shouted.

As they continued their proclamations, Tom turned towards Bilbo, "What would you have us do, then, let 'em all go?"

"Well…" Bilbo began only to be cut off.

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" Tom asked before turning to his companions and pointing at the hobbit, "This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" Bilbo asked slightly offended.

"Fools?" one troll asked in the same tone.

"Enough of this! Let's just eat them now!" Tom said, grabbing two dwarves from the pile and bringing them to his mouth.

Refridis and Gandalf rushed out on top of a large rock above the clearing, their loud steps gathering the attention to everyone below. As Refridis concentrated on something in her hands, Gandalf exclaimed, "The dawn will take you all!"

"Who'r they?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat 'em, too?"

Refridis held out her hands towards the trolls and let loose a blinding light that chased away any darkness in the area before jumping down towards the dwarves. The trolls had dropped the sacks and were howling at the sudden painful brightness and attempting to shade their eyes.

She sliced at the ropes that trapped the dwarves in their sacks while explaining, "We must act quickly, the light will fade away in a few moments and we will be open to attack. Dawn is just arriving on the horizon. Hopefully Gandalf is correct about his timing!"

As the light disappeared, the trolls saw the now free dwarves scrabbling their weapons and charged towards them, unsheathing their cooking knives. Refridis began charging for another ball of light but Gandalf struck the boulder with his staff, splitting it in half with a mighty crash and allowing the sunlight behind it to pour into the clearing. As the light touched the trolls' skin, they began turning into stone letting loose screams and howls of pain as it crackled. Within seconds, three stone statues stood were the trolls had been just a second ago along with some very relieved dwarves who were cheering for their magical saviors.

"Oh, get your foot out of my back!" Dwalin snapped as he struggled to get himself free of the spit.

* * *

Refridis had melted away the ice she had summoned to put out any remaining flames and Oin and Gloin helped get their companions free. She walked over to where Kili was grabbing his bow and asked in a teasing tone, "So… you've got huge parasites, huh?"

"Shut up," he responded in a joking tone, as he turned around to meet her, "and where did you disappear off to?"

Refridis gave him a smile before answering, "Went to find Gandalf. I could not find a weakness for those trolls and rather than heading into battle headfirst without knowledge I went to get some help from someone who would know what to do. I haven't survived this long by not asking for assistance."

Her expression turned dark, "By the way, that was an absolutely stupid thing to do. You could have gotten yourself and others killed! And leaving Bilbo to go against three trolls by himself, what were you and your brother thinking?"

"We thought he could handle himself, being a burglar and what-not," Kili responded, trying to defend himself from the questions.

"You and I both know that Bilbo is a long ways from being a burglar. I have to give him credit for his courage and quick thinking, but just does skills does a proper thief not make," she said in a low tone.

"And how would you know what makes a proper thief?" Kili asked.

Refridis gave a secretive smile before holding up a sword, "Experience."

Kili recognized the sword as his and patted the place where he had just sheathed it only to find it empty. The wood elf tossed it to him before walking towards Bilbo. Kili followed her figure as she kneeled down close to the sitting hobbit and held out his scratched up arm. A warm and gentle glow surrounded her hand as she pressed it against the wound and when she pulled away, the cut was gone without a trace.

"_There is a lot more to that woman than what she is telling. What bigger secret could she be hiding than that she is friends with a dragon?"_

* * *

_**Woah, this is a longest chapter I have written so far. The Labor Day weekend has given me a bunch of free time to write.**_

_**Hope you all enjoyed reading this. I know some of you were looking forward to a big fight with the trolls but you must all remember that Refridis is a rather cautious character who thinks things through before making a decision and isn't one to rush headfirst into battle. One of you asked about her use of magic as an Arch-mage so here I put in some little things (though magic will be used in the future as well.) Bonus points to anyone who can name all the spells used!**_

_**No Dovahzul translations for this chapter and I am not expecting to use any in the next either though I do have some surprises planned within the next couple of chapters that I can't wait to write down.**_

_**As usual, your reviews, comments and questions will be answered next chapter and they are always welcomed! We made it to 50, so lets see how quickly we can make it to 100!**_

_**Next time, Refridis will find out next chapter why that strange wolf on the cliff was giving her such a bad feeling ;)**_


	10. Inferno Carved in Stone

**Hello once again everyone! Sorry for the lateness but the internet ran out at home so I couldn't post the chapter during the weekend. There is not much to talk about so this is just a short little blurb before I get into the questions (if I do not answer to you specifically that is because the question was already asked and answered or because it will be resolved in the current chapter). Thanks to the reviewers: Basia Orci, DevineWhisper16, PassiveResistance, Ny'Kle, Victor, Jerel Cheek, Mr. Review, Kat, hornet07, Hefster, and killer4853! Thanks to all who have followed, favorited, or read silently~**

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**Question Time!**

**To PassiveResistance:**** I agree with you, sometimes some authors just seem to give up after they establish the connection and it is a bit sad. Here's hoping that my standards remain as high as I wish them to be for the whole story! ****Magic does works about the same and there are some pretty crazy spells that I could use in the future. The Refridis file that I use while gaming is maxed out/legendary on heavy armor, archery, sneak, speech, lockpick, and smithing but as you can tell there are some very noticeable differences in the story, especially with the magicka which I am actually terrible at in all areas with the game and hardly use it but I needed a credible way for Gandalf to reach my OC so I thought, secret wizard room in Winterhold! I am planning for a very specific Daedra character to be appearing within the next couple chapters so keep an eye out for that. I don't think Refridis would be so much angry but more frustrated with the Withered Heath territory. After all, she still has to search for the pack of free dragons that I mentioned in a previous chapter so maybe she hopes that they will be there. Glad you enjoyed the chapter~**

**To Ny'Kle:**** It's true that Odahviing could have been introduced at that moment but I was actually thinking about the many dragons that I have seen killed when fighting against giants on the plains of Whiterun. In addition, given that there were three creatures larger than giants in the middle of a highly wooded forest, I didn't believe it to be wise for a fire-breathing, flying creature to be introduced at that time. Thank you for your review~**

**Victor: ****Hello my friend! Thank you kindly for your explanation about the Withered Heath (I was about to go look it up) and let me just say that the majority of your questions will be answered in this chapter ;) The dream was simply a vision as I explained that Faendal died peacefully in his sleep in a previous chapter and the girls did die of disease though it was when they were a lot older and already had kids. Serena will not be in this story physically and it will be explained in the future why she has not been with Refridis through her immortality.**

**To Jerel Cheek:**** Thank you kindly for your comment, it brought a smile to my face. I will tell you that I am planning for this to be a rather long multi-chapter story as I personally enjoy the type with a semi-slow pace with action dotted through out (but that's just me). I am still on the fence about continuing on with LOTR but I will be placing some plot devices in just in case I do decide to continue it past the Hobbit.**

**To Hornet07: **** Not sure if trolling or a legitimate review but y****our response is at the bottom of the chapter due to its length.**

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**The spells used last chapter: weak Flames spell, Transmute, Frostbite, and Candlelight. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

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Refridis had just finished healing some minor scratches that her hobbit friend had gained when Thorin ordered the company to move along and search for a cave as the trolls could not have moved far from the place that they took sanctuary in during the day. The wood elf wrinkled her nose at the thought of going into a troll cave, having had plenty of previous experiences when adventuring. Seeing the behaviors of the Middle-Earth trolls made her think that while they may have wildly different physiology, their homes would be in much of the same shape as their smaller, hairier cousins of Skyrim.

She was partially tempted to separate from the group for a little bit in order to tell Odahviing about her company's nightly experience and to be careful with the creatures in this area but knew that troll hoards often had valuables that might be good for later use or for money when funds were low so she searched with the dwarves, trying to find the direction of where the stench that permeated the air was stronger.

It only took a few minutes before Bofur announced that he had found an opening densely covered in forest greenery. The dwarves regrouped and entered the fly-infested cave that was littered with the bones and rotting flesh of past troll meals. Refridis was quickly regretting the decision not to go talk to her draconic companion as the cave became the most foul-smelling thing she had ever found. She was thankful that she still had her protective face piece on as the full blow of the smell would most likely have overpowered her sensitive nose and caused her to throw up.

Nori seemed to agree with her as he voiced her thoughts, "Oh, what's that stench?!"

"It's the troll hoard," Gandalf replied as he subtly covered his mouth with his hand, "Be careful what you touch."

As the dwarves walked further into the cave they began to cough and retch at the pungent smell that could only be described as troll. However, it greatly lessened the moment that their torchlight made piles of gold coins and other treasures glistened in the darkness.

Refridis' adventurer and thief side made themselves known as her first reaction to it was to gather as much as possible into her bag while her draconic side made her want to get the rest of the group away from the treasure and claim it as hers. She quickly beat down all of the ideas and regained her self-control in time to stop her from leaping towards the valuables. However, she could not stop the slight thrumming of power that was echoing through the cave.

"_No, it can't be," _The Bosmer thought, looking around desperately and hoping that the others were reacting as well only to be severely disappointed when she saw them still gawking at the initial pile of coins, _"How can one be here?"_

"Seems a shame just to leave it lyin' around," Bofur remarked about the glittering treasure, "Anyone could take it."

Gloin nodded, "Agreed. Nori, get a shovel."

The dwarves split up into smaller groups and began exploring the cave for things they could take on their journey. Refridis wandered away from the more crowded area of the cave and towards the back where the power seemed to be calling her name. There was a partially hidden entrance that was thickly covered in cobwebs and seemed to have been untouched for centuries as it was too small for the trolls to be able to reach. Refridis scraped away some of the webs and immediately recognized some of the ancient carvings that faintly decorated the stone.

She magicked a flame in the palm of her hand and carefully burned away more of the silky covering, making sure not to accidently set the entire cave on fire. It was there, partially hidden between two rocks like it had been thrown in carelessly, that she found a golden dragon claw with the talons made of a very light, silverish material. Her breath was trapped in her throat at the possibility that the Nords may have come to Tamriel from Middle-Earth, totally disproving the theories of hundreds of researchers who were attempting to piece together a history of their ancient ancestors. She had known the stories and legends that the people of Skyrim came to the land from a faraway place but her finding now proved it. Not only that, but it would mean that there were Words of Power also hidden throughout the country that she would have to find.

She was looking at the claws underside, trying to discern what the symbols that would be the code for the door of some barrow or tomb when she heard heavy footsteps behind her and hid the claw in her pack. She quickly turned around to find Kili standing a few steps away.

"Find anything of use back here?" He asked, clearly curious as to why she was so far away from the others.

"No," the wood elf lied while walking past him, "it is unfortunate as usually the best and most useful things are the furthest away from the entrance."

Kili was quiet for a second before muttering, "You're lying…"

Refridis froze and turned towards the dwarf, a cold look entering her eyes and hissing, "There was nothing back there. It would be in your best interest not to call me a liar or to try finding things that do not exist."

"I gave you my trust in exchange for keeping your rather large secret," Kili whispered back forcefully, "why will you not trust me with whatever it is you are hiding? Surely it can't be worse than who you keep as a companion."

Refridis gave a small sigh before answering softly, "Because there are things that you are better off not knowing about me, that will simply put you at much greater risk than what you need to be. Please Kili, it is not because I want to keep them away from you, it is because I must keep them secret for the safety of the whole company. It is bad enough that you know of Odahviing, please do not try to dig any deeper. It is unimportant and unnecessary for our quest unless I happen to mention it."

With an air of tired finality she walked towards were the others were stuffing their coin pouches with loot and Thorin was looking at some weaponry, leaving Kili to stare at her back as she took her flaming light with her. He glanced around the area were she had been searching and saw various ancient etchings on the walls that were unlike anything he had seen within Middle-Earth before. On one of the walls that she had burned away the old spider silk was a scene carved in stone. It depicted a fight between a great dragon and a single armored warrior wielding a sword. The stone was carved expertly to show rolling waves of fire coming from the dragon's mouth but the screaming warrior seemed to be meeting the inferno with a fire of his own creation.

Kili looked back and forth between the carving and the elf who was now busying herself with collecting some jewels, trying to make a connection and wondering why she had been so upset with him when he called her out on her lie.

"_She will explain to me in time when she is comfortable but she also said that it was essential to the safety of the Company and I need to know if it is worth telling Thorin about a possible threat." _Kili thought to himself before walking away towards the lighter part of the cave where everyone was gathered, abandoning the old carvings to once again be taken over by age and arachnids.

* * *

Refridis was digging through a small pile of gold, deciding to indulge her self slightly by taking the most flawless of jewels to be smithed later into jewelry.

She was looking at a particularly large sapphire when she heard a sword being unsheathed. She turned quickly, alert for any possible dangers having had to many run ins with bandits when she thought an area was clear and saw that it was only Gandalf holding a dusty blade. Her curiosity instantly peaked; she wandered over towards the wizard and her leader.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men," Gandalf told the dwarven lord, answering some previous question that Thorin had asked, "These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age."

At the realization that he was holding elven swords, Thorin started to put the one in his hand away in disgust, acting as if he had touched the foulest filth that there ever was. Though, Refridis was offended at the dwarf's reaction, she had to slightly agree with him. Not even she would use a blade crafted by the traitorous Thalmor, but she quickly reminded herself that the elves here might be very different than the ones in Skyrim. She would have to call herself a hypocrite if she judged others based on previous experiences, having reprimanded Thorin back in Bilbo's home for doing the very same thing.

Gandalf shot him a look and said, "You could not wish for a finer blade."

Thorin reluctantly brought the weapon to his chest and drew it out of its sheath a few inches, inspecting the blade and making sure that Gandalf wasn't simply trying to trick him into keeping a blade made by his enemies. Refridis, who was now closer, gazed at the sword, noting its fine craftsmanship. She wondered if it would be better than the current Daedric weaponry that she carried with her.

She walked behind the two who were looking at the rest of the weaponry and asked, "May I see one of those blades?"

Thorin turned his head towards her voice and scowled when he realized who it was. Walking past her, sword in hand, he began to order the group out of the foul cave clearly still upset at her despite her actions from the night before.

"_Ruth_, even reiklings have better attitudes than him," Refridis muttered at his disappearing form before facing the weapons rack, "You say that these are Elvish blades?"

Gandalf gave a small puff of amusement, catching that whatever she was comparing the regal dwarf to was obviously meant as an insult, before answering with a yes. Refridis gave a noncommittal hum before picking up a belt that had a pair of sister swords strapped to it and giving a small sound of surprise by how light they were. She unsheathed one and gave it a quick precise swing through the air, weighing it in her hand and wondering at the possible damage it would cause to an enemy.

"These swords are better than the ones I carry now, both lighter and stronger, but it would be such a shame to just leave Daedric weapons just laying here," the wood elf commented.

"I'm sure that they will still be here when you make the return journey home. After all, it takes a rather strong stomach to go exploring through a troll hoard. We must go join the rest of the company as I fear to what they will do if left alone for too long. I leave for a few hours only to find a panicked elf traveling through the trees telling me that they were captured by mountain trolls," Gandalf said, reminding her of the events of the pre-dawn hours.

"I wasn't panicking," Refridis mumbled as she walked past the grey wizard, taking off her current weapons belt and securing the new one to her waist, "I was rightly worried about their safety."

Gandalf made an amused sound before following the Bosmer and stopped when he stepped on something metallic hidden under some leaves. He removed the rotting vegetation and found a much smaller blade, one that would be perfect for a certain hobbit.

* * *

Refridis removed her face piece and took in a deep breath of fresh air as she exited the troll cave, trying to get rid of the odor that lingered in her lungs. She looked down at the blades that she now carried and looked back to where she had left her other blades. It felt wrong to leave behind something that had originated in Skyrim and for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that she would never see the weapons again. Gandalf's comment about her return trip out of Middle-Earth seemed strange, like he was thinking too far ahead.

As she came to terms with her immortality, she learned to simply live a few days at a time or risk falling into a terrible depression at the fact that many of the people and creatures she knew would be dead in a few decades. In all honesty, she wasn't even thinking about what she would do once she reached the foot of the Lonely Mountain. Sure, she had a general gist; go in with Bilbo, slay the dragon (or dragons if needed), and collect her reward. She didn't have any set plans afterwards, though she knew that returning to Skyrim would happen eventually.

"_Perhaps I will stay in Middle-Earth for a while," _Refridis thought, _"there must be plenty of new sights and adventures to be had here and I'm sure I will be able to bring some good stories to those back home. Not to mention the word walls that could be scattered throughout the continent and possible hiding dragons. "_

She was brought out of her musing when Gandalf went to hand her hobbit friend an exceptionally small sword, to the point where she thought that it was more likely to be a dagger rather than a true sword.

"Bilbo," the grey wizard said, grabbing the attention of the hobbit who seemed to be daydreaming.

The Halfling gave a sound of recognition, coming out of whatever daze he had been in.

"Here," Gandalf said, giving the sword to Bilbo, "This is about your size."

Bilbo looked at the sword in his hand with confusion before shaking his head and responding, "I can't take this."

"The blade is of Elvish make, which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby," the wizard explained.

Refridis gave him a strange look as she had never heard of such an enchantment on a blade before looking at hers, trying to sense any weak magical energies that they might have only to come up empty.

"I have never used a sword in my life!" the hobbit exclaimed, clearly starting to see that there was no way to convince the wizard to take back the sword.

Gandalf looked at him before giving him some wise advice, "And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

Refridis felt the words echo through her before bitterly thinking, _"A lesson everyone should be taught when given a weapon. If only someone had told me that when I was first starting out then perhaps the lives of many could have been spared."_

"Though we both hope that the sword will stay in it's sheath during battle," the Bosmer started, "It is better that you learn how to use it efficiently so that you do not accidently hurt yourself or others. I can train you on how the basics, and advanced if I see promise. I am more than certain that others in the company would be willing to help as well."

Bilbo was about to argue back when something crashed heavily in the forest causing birds to give out their alarm calls.

"Something's coming!" Thorin yelled and the dwarves began to run towards the noise, hoping to catch whatever it was before it caught them.

"Gandalf! Refridis I-" Bilbo started, but Refridis had already disappeared in the brush, following the trail left by the footfalls of the dwarves.

"Stay together!" Gandalf called out; going after the troop, "Hurry now. Arm yourselves!"

Bilbo gave a frustrated sigh before slowly drawing the short sword and giving it a once-over. Though he had little knowledge of the weapons of war outside of his storybooks, even he could appreciate the quality of the blade. There was a loud shout that reminded the hobbit that he was on his own and quickly followed the disappearing group into the woods.

* * *

When Gandalf had mentioned that his wizard friend was a bit eccentric, Refridis certainly wasn't expecting a disheveled-looking man with bird droppings in his hair to ride in on a sled drawn by rabbits yelling at the top of his lungs about thieves, fire and murder. She looked around at her companions, trying to see if this was a regular occurrence but saw that they were just as confused as she was. Even the grey wizard himself looked rather befuddled at his fellow colleagues appearance.

"Radagast! Radagast the Brown. Ah, what on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked, sheathing his new blade now that he knew that there was no danger.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf!" Radagast cried out, "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong!"

Gandalf gave the wizard a look before saying, "Yes?"

Radagast opened his mouth to speak only to shut it as if he had forgotten what he was going to say. He quickly regained his train of thought opening his mouth but closed it in frustration.

"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it! It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue!" he said, curling up his tongue before giving a surprised look, "Oh, it's not a thought at all! It's a silly old-"

Gandalf reached into his friend's mouth before pulling out a very distressed insect that was waving his legs around.

"-stick insect!" the brown wizard finished, gently taking the bug from Gandalf's hand.

The dwarves and Bilbo looked on in disgust at what they had just witnessed and Refridis made the conclusion that while this wizard certainly was one with nature, he must have some secret supply of moon sugar or powdered glow mushrooms stashed somewhere.

"Perhaps it would be wise for us to talk in private my friend," Gandalf said, leading the wizard away from the group and giving Refridis a look that said to watch the dwarves.

Refridis was desperately curious about what they would talk about but they had wandered a little bit too far for even her ears to pick up. She gave a small sigh of frustration before sitting on a moss covered stone while the group split up to talk amongst each other.

Bilbo sat next to her in a slightly awkward silence before clearing his throat. Refridis looked down on him with an eyebrow raised, questioning if he needed something.

"Do… do you honestly believe that I can use this blade?" the hobbit asked, bringing the weapon to his knees.

"It's not a question if you can, all creatures with arms and a brain can hold a sharpened tool to hurt, but rather it is if you will and how well. I suspect that with the right training, even you can become a master of the blade," the wood elf answered with a smile.

"You should do that more often," the hobbit answered shyly.

"Do what?"

"Smile. It makes you seem a lot nicer and friendlier," Bilbo said looking down at the small sword in his lap.

Refridis gave a dark chuckle, "When you live as long as I have Master Baggins, it becomes harder to find things to be joyful about. There is so much darkness in this world that sometimes it seems useless to fight against it and you just want to lie down and give up."

The Halfling gave her a worried look before she continued strongly, "but, it is for folks like you that I continue my quest to eliminate that darkness. The sacrifice of one so that others do not have to suffer that same fate and pain."

"You do not have to do it alone though," a new voice said behind them making them both turn around to see the two Durin brothers listening in on their conversation, "you have us to help."

Refridis gave them a mocking-hard look before in a joking tune saying, "Don't you know it is rude to eavesdrop?"

Kili gave her a questioning look; clearly wanting some answers while Fili gave a shrug and said, "Never stopped us before."

"They are taking an awful long time, I wonder what they are talking about?" Bilbo said while looking for the two wizards in the forest.

"_Yes, what can they be discussing that is of such high importance?" _the Bosmer asked herself.

* * *

Radagast had just finished telling Gandalf of what had happened to him in the ancient fortress of Dol Guldur and was handing him a cloth-wrapped package that seemed to exude an evil aura. Gandalf gave a quick peak at its contents and gave the brown wizard a look of concern.

"That is not from the world of the living," Radagast said to him in a low tone before looking over his shoulder towards the wood elf that was talking to the hobbit and two of the dwarfs, "Gandalf, who is that woman you travel with?"

"Hm? That is Refridis Silduaan of Skyrim, a wood elf and a powerful wizard from across the sea whom I have asked to journey with us due to her rather… specialized set of skills. Some of the dwarves don't like her much, Thorin much less due to her heritage, but she has been of help so far despite their attitude towards her."

Radagast squinted in her direction before turning around and saying, "A vicious power lies within her, dangerous and waiting. It is unlike anything I have ever seen in these lands. I would be cautious as something does not sit right with me about her."

Gandalf was about to ask what exactly he meant by the statement as he had not sensed anything evil within the elf when a low, guttural howl was heard from nearby causing both wizards to turn towards the company of dwarves.

* * *

Refridis removed her bow from its resting position and nocked an arrow. She had known that it would not be the last of the strange wolf on the cliff from a couple nights before but it was unexpected for it to attack so soon and with such a large number of people as they usually happened when one was alone.

"Was that a wolf? Are there- are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked, his voice shaking slightly and looking around slightly panicked.

"Wolves?" Bofur responded, clutching his warhammer tightly, "No, that is not a wolf."

Refridis gave him a questioning look before a loud snap and a snarl caused her to whip around to see a creature that looked like the spawn of a sabercat and a large dog jump towards them. She took careful aim, using the precious moments that the creature was in the air before shooting a daedric arrow that went through the thing's throat causing it to collapse on the dwarf that it was planning to attack. Upon its less than graceful landing in front of them, Thorin finished it off with a swing of his new blade to the head. Another appeared from behind him, running quickly to bite the dwarven leader but Kili shot an arrow into it's shoulder making it stumble right into the path of Dwalin's hammer which crushed its skull with a powerful strike.

Refridis finally got the name of the creature when Thorin announced, while removing his sword from the one he killed, "Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind."

The wood elf had her thoughts voiced when Bilbo asked nervously "Orc pack?"

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked angrily.

Thorin gave a confused glance at the wizard before responding, "No one."

"WHO DID YOU TELL?" the wizard asked more forcefully.

"No one, I swear!" the dwarf answered back, "What in Durin's name is going on?!"

To the dismay of everyone, Gandalf replied, "You are being hunted."

Refridis gave a small groan, had there only been one or two more she could have helped to easily take them out but an entire pack of them was likely to be a nightmare. They did not seem very difficult to kill or stumble, the skin soft enough for her arrow to get stuck halfway in and their bones unable to take a good hard smash but they would definitely harder than a sabercat. Add into the mix some blood-thirsty orcs and it made the situation even more troubling.

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin said, checking over his shoulder in case anything else tried to ambush them.

Ori came out of the bushes with two other dwarves and cried out, "We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted!"

"_Gods damnit! Now we have to face them," _Refridis thought, her face turning into an angry scowl as she raised her face piece and her hood.

Surprising her and some others in the company, Radagast piped up, "I'll draw them off."

"These are Gundabad Wargs;" Gandalf said, turning to his fellow wizard with worry, "They will outrun you!"

Radagast gave him a toothy grin, a sparkle of mischief appearing in his eye, before pointing to his sled, "These are Rhosgobel Rabbits! I'd like to see them try…"

"Fine, but do not take unnecessary risks!" Gandalf replied before turning towards the rest of the company, "The rest of you, follow me. We must get in position to run to the other side."

"_Other side?" _Refridis questioned as she followed the grey wizard. She suddenly understood why the pack was attacking such a big group when she saw a large open landscape dotted with huge boulders that provided little cover, perfect for hunting them down.

Gandalf urged them all to hide behind a particularly large rock as the howls of the wargs echoed throughout the valley and nearby forest. Refridis nervously gripped her bow, not putting it away in case the plan didn't work and knowing that using her new swords without a getting comfortable with them first would simply spell disaster for her. She spotted several large wargs with strangely armored orcs riding upon them sniffing through the woods they had just been hiding in. The armor seemed of rather poor quality, completely different from Orsimer forged creations, which gave her a bit of hope for a fighting chance if Radagast should fail. Speaking of Radagast, the rather strangely endearing wizard had just bursted out of the forest on his rabbit-pulled sled with a shout and mocking laughter.

"Come and get me! Ha ha!" He yelled behind him as the orcs began to give chase.

Gandalf motioned for them to start running across the rocky plain, "Come on!"

As they moved quickly between rocky outcroppings and boulders, Refridis made sure to stay near the back of the group so that if some one were to fall behind, she could help them. She looked away from the group to watch as an orc attempted to hit Radagast only to crash and be crushed by his own ride. The wood elf stopped suddenly with the company when the wargs ran a little too close for comfort and they hid behind a nearby rock.

"Stay together." Gandalf said loud enough so only they could hear.

Thorin ordered them to move once the wargs were far enough away. Radagast was leading them in circles so the next time they came close Thorin stopped before they could be seen but young Ori kept running.

"Ori, no! Come back!" Thorin said, grabbing the young dwarf by the back of his shirt and pulling him to safety just before he could be spotted by their hunters.

As the threat passed once again, Gandalf urged them to move. Refridis heard Thorin ask about where the wizard was leading them to but received no answer. They continued their run and hide technique for a while longer before they stopped beneath a large boulder to catch their breath. Refridis froze when she heard the scrabbling of claws on stone and a sword being unsheathed. She wasn't the only one as Thorin motioned to Kili to get rid of the orc and warg. Kili readied his arrow, taking a deep breath before quickly stepping out and shooting the warg. She knew he had missed his mark when the warg made a terrible screeching sound that she was sure would echo for miles.

"_Ruth dilfahliil nis orin ediin qiilaan!" _Refridis cursed as she shot her own arrow into the shoulder of the orc who was about to blow in his horn, causing both him and his ride to fall near the rest of the dwarves.

They made quick but rather noisy work of killing them both and for a moment there was silence. Refridis actually hoped that maybe they were lucky and the fight wasn't heard but it was quickly shattered when she heard a shout in a strange language and the howls of wargs approaching them.

Knowing that they were spotted, Gandalf yelled, "Move! RUN!"

As they tried making their escape Refridis knew that there was no way they would survive by just running. As much as it pained her to reveal her friend so soon, they needed help.

"_Odahviing bo nel! Zu'u los ko praag do hin frey!" _she whispered in to the wind and praying to the Divines that he would arrive on time.

The wargs began to try and run them down and Gloin shouted that they were blocking the path they were running towards. Gandalf quickly redirected them and soo reached a clearing from which they could see from all sides and came to a stop in front of a lichen-covered rock when they realized that they were surrounded.

"There's more coming!" Kili shouted, having been one of the dwarves in the back.

"Kili! Refridis! Shoot them!" Thorin shouted.

Both archers quickly got to work, shooting down anything that got too close and it was only when Kili asked "Where is Gandalf?" that Refridis realized that the wizard had disappeared.

"He has abandoned us!" she heard Dwalin yell as she got closer to the rest of the dwarves.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered as he readied his sword.

Gandalf had suddenly popped his head up from a crack in the rock and yelled at them, "This way, you fools!"

Thorin, who had been closest to the rock, alerted the others of the hiding place, "Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!"

Refridis was standing next to Thorin as dwarves jumped in and shot an arrow at a warg who had come from behind them. Thorin quickly finished it off with a slash of his blade before giving her a nod of thanks.

She was surprised by the gesture as Thorin never had bothered to thanked her before but her attention was pulled towards the company's raven-haired archer when his uncle shouted, "Kili! Run!"

Kili shot one more arrow towards the closest warg and rider before making a run towards the crack. He was halfway there when his boot caught a rock and caused him to fall. Refridis felt as if time had slowed down and reached for an arrow from her quiver only to realize she was out. She spotted a red glint in the sky but it would be far too late before Odahviing would reach the scene. There was only one thing she could do.

She gave Thorin a hard push as she ran towards the felled dwarf, causing him to fall in to the cave with the others. The wargs were quickly approaching Kili who was desperately trying to crawl backwards towards the hidden crack. Refridis cried "GET DOWN!" to the dwarf before she jumped over his body and faced the wargs directly. She reached deep within her soul, stirring the creatures who had become one with her.

"_Yesssss…." _They hissed, waking up, as her chest and throat began to grow hot, "_releaseee ussss. Release our fury!"_

"_**YOL TOOR SHUL!" **_the Bosmer shouted, a massive inferno expelling from her mouth burning all who stood in her way.

Kili was shocked at what had happened in front of him and suddenly it clicked why Refridis had been so angry at the stone carving. The wargs and orcs had stopped their approached, stunned that nearly a quarter of their group had just been burned to a crisp by the female wood elf.

"Refridis?" said Kili with a shaky voice, reaching a hand towards her.

His blood turned to ice when his friend turned around.

Her eyes were unrecognizing and serpentine and she let out a bestial snarl.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed that long chapter and the little cliffhanger that I left you with and again sorry for the lateness! There is the dragon shout you have all been waiting for and next come the consequences.**

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**Some quick Dovahzul meanings (though I said there wouldn't be any):**

_Ruth dilfahliil nis orin ediin qiilaan!- Damn dwarf can't even shoot an arrow!_

___Odahviing bo nel! Zu'u los ko praag do hin frey!- Odahviing fly quickly! I am in need of your aid!_

___Yol Toor Shul- The Fire Breath dragon shout meaning 'Fire, Inferno, Sun'_

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**Please remember to leave a constructive review, comment, or question and to favorite or follow as it is much appreciated and lets me know what I have to work on.**

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**I'm not sorry for the last review answer (you don't have to read it) and if anyone thinks that I am a bitch or immature because of the response and stops reading, I understand and I will regretfully let you go. I am known as the kind of person that doesn't get offended easily and I would have been okay with the comments should they have not been written in such a condescending tone. **

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**To hornet07 (who gets their own little spot because of how long my response was):**** I will be perfectly honest with you because I am that kind of person. When I saw that there were two new reviews I got incredibly excited because I love reading what people say but when I read your comments my thought was, "Who the fuck does this person think they are 'critiquing' in such a rude manner?". I was quite upset by it and the fact that you commented before reading all the chapters posted but I can understand some of the confusion you have so I will answer to your comment. **

**The reason why I am limiting the kinds of powers my Dragonborn can use is because, and you have to admit this as well, the in-game mechanics are overpowered to the point where I can take on the entire city of Solitude and walk away with just taking half a health bar of damage. To use my character to the entirety of her power would be creating a very Mary-Sue "able to do anything and save everyone and has no weaknesses" type of situation and OC, something that I absolutely detest when reading a story so I scale back to the point where I feel that my character is powerful but not overpowering. If she was able to use her shouts without any repercussions, then she might as well "fight buck naked with a toothpick" since that would be all she needed in order to defeat any enemy.**

**Secondly, have you even read my story carefully enough to be able to understand some of the reasoning behind my decisions? The Daedric Armor was not initially left behind for stealth reasons, but rather because she didn't want to scare off potential allies in a strange and unknown environment through intimidation. Lets be realistic, if you see someone in demonic-looking armor walking towards you, your first thought will not be "Oh I'm sure that person is really nice and friendly". I won't even explain the Nightingale Armor because I specifically wrote down the reasoning why it was not worn in previous chapters and Refridis has been wearing it for the last two so it shouldn't be an issue. Also, have you seen the Hobbit movies or did I just imagine the fact that Thorin wanted to keep the quest as low-key and secret as possible, from both the elves and lakemen if I recall? Gandalf even got pissed off at him during the events of this chapter because he thought Thorin told someone other than his kin about the journey. Stealth is definitely a part of the quest. **

**This is the part that really got my blood boiling. If you call my story "The Hobbit novelization quirky, useless cameo of Skyrim" with some useless extra that may as well not exist then that comment applies to nearly ALL stories that contain an OC or Dragonborn, regardless if it is under the Elder Scrolls/Hobbit crossover or with a standalone fandom. There is a reason why it is called a crossover/AU and not the original. There are extra bits, characters, and deviations that are unnecessary for the progression of the story but are interesting to read as it gives a new twist to a familiar situation. **

**I am sorry if you cannot see the subtle (or obvious) details and actions that I am writing which will have consequences for the future of the story. It is hypocritical of you to say that you love the story and then proceed to flame the hell out of it (and you typing that your critique is not a flame is like telling an offensive joke and then claiming the freedom of speech when someone calls you out on it). **

**I am capable of receiving harsh criticism, and I have previously with other writings, when it is done in a helpful manner to make my story better and elevate my level of writing. I know that my writing is far, far from perfect and that I can always do something to make it better. Other than making me aware of the troublesome pattern that is emerging, the ONLY helpful thing from your two reviews that I will work to change, all you are doing is bitching about the writing decisions I have made thus far. The exit button is in the corner of your screen if you cannot take "a legitimate critique of the most basic of flaws" made in your review.**

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**And with that, I hope that everyone has a good week (or until the next update)~**


	11. Staavek Zeymahzin

_**Hello everyone! Sorry for this chapter being late but I just got my first job so that has taken up my (already limited) spare time. Fear not however, as I usually get an hour and a half to two hours between classes that allow me to write though I usually use it do to coursework. In addition, my job is mostly in the research department so after I look up whatever is needed for the day I have free time to do whatever I want (it's a pretty great gig actually). This is just so you all know that if a chapter isn't posted within a week it's because I've been busy with IRL issues. **_

_**Enough about my personal life! I would like to thank the reviewers: Lotheon, Basia Orci, Victor, PassiveResistance, Hefster, DecrepitSoul, Ny'Kle, and ShannonTheAwesomeOne! Also thanks to readers, favoriters, and followers and a warm welcome to all the new readers! On to the comment answers~**_

_**To Everyone:**__** Please do not worry about offending me with your comments, I enjoy reading your opinions (both positive and negative) so long as they are not specifically bashing the story! Like I wrote down, it takes a lot to offend me and it was the tone and rude manner that the reviewer typed their comment that set me off. Don't stop writing your reviews as they make my day much brighter when I see them in my mailbox! Also, to those who have commented that I made them get back into Skyrim or reread the Hobbit, I find it great that my story was able to influence some of your decisions so I thank you very much!**_

_**To Victor: **__**Thanks for the comments! Let me just say in response to the majority of your comments that I have **__**BIG **__**plans for what will be happening in Rivendell (might actually take up an entire chapter or two if I plan it correctly and close possible plot holes). I will also say that the Necromancer does keep his canon origins and will not be a hyped-up dragon priest ;) (though that actually was a pretty good idea that I didn't think of for a plot). And please don't simplify your reviews! Your tidbits of information really help with my story writing and allow me to research specific things that I might need~**_

_**To PassiveResistance: **__**Eh, I didn't take it as seriously as I could have but I did feel the need to defend my decisions thus far so that's why the answer to the review was so long. The troll cave is not an entrance of a barrow but simply a place where the claw was kept for safekeeping (like how one or two claws are found in a separate cave from it's assigned barrow and I have to check all of the surrounding caves to make sure I find the correct barrow because I'm too stubborn to look online). Though a more in-depth explanation will be put in the next chapter (or the one after it) about why Radagast was able to sense Refridis' nature and not Gandalf, I will say that Gandalf would probably be less suspicious of Refridis' massive reserves of magick and strange energy due to her being Archmage of a completely different continent where magic might operate differently than on ME. Thanks for your review and hope you enjoy the chapter~**_

_**To DecrepitSoul: **__** Glad I was able to bring across that feeling of tension! Yep, I had to think like I didn't know what was going to happen (something difficult to do when you know how it ends and trying to add some original twists to it). And yes, you have experience with my love of cliffhangers ;) The answer to the last part of your review is in this chapter so hope you like it!**_

_**To ShannonTheAwesomeOne:**__** Aww your comments make me blush! I will say that I take some serious artistic liberties with the things that have to do with Thu'ums and their affect of on the Dovahkiin as it almost has nothing to do with the Dragonborn DLC other than the use of Miraak as an example since *DLC **__**spoilers* he is the first Dovahkiin *end spoilers*. Thanks for your comment!**_

_**Hope you all enjoy~**_

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Kili knew that he was in danger as Refridis took a step towards him with hungry eyes, all traces of the wood elf he knew was gone replaced by an unforgiving predator. He heard the yelling of the company as they attempted to climb out of the cave to see what was happening to the young heir of Durin but the ground must have been too steep, as none of them had reached the mouth yet. It was by some stroke of luck or irony that one of the wargs had become enraged at the killing of its companions and decided to attack the Bosmer that faced away from them.

The beast had broken formation and was dashing towards Refridis, jumping over the smoldering bodies of both warg and orc. Refridis turned when she heard the footfalls of the creature and lifted her arms to protect her head from the leaping warg as it bit down hard, teeth puncturing through the light armor of both her right upper and lower arm causing blood to flow and stain the chest of the beast. Refridis let out a sound that sounded like a mangled cross between a scream of pain and a growl before forcefully uncrossing her arms sending the warg flying through the air and into one of its standing companions.

A sigh of relief escaped Kili's lips as her attention was turned towards the orcs who had started circling the two, making sure to keep a good distance between them and the enraged elf. He was concerned with the bite she had taken, knowing that wargs carried a myriad of infections within their teeth having heard about more than one dwarf dying from a bite after an orc attack, but his current situation warranted more fear for himself than for that of the Bosmer's health.

The orcs grew tired of circling as they spoke to each other in Black Speech and all started to attack at once. Refridis let out a snarl before shouting something in Dovahzul that caused the offenders to fly back as if they were pushed forcefully, many of them falling from their rides. The Bosmer took this moment of weakness to rush forwards and leap at the closest offending orc, both falling to the ground, the orc on its back and Refridis crouching over him. She raised her hand into the air, Kili spotting her now talon-like nails, before bringing them down and scratching deep cuts into the creature's face. The orc howled in pain as she repeated the actions several times before gurgling into silence as she ripped into its throat. She stood up, black blood dripping from her armor as she stalked towards another one of the attackers, a low rumbling growl emanating from her.

Kili knew that as soon as she was done with the orcs she would turn to him and feared for his life. His attention, however, was brought to the sky when a large shadow fell on the clearing and he chuckled slightly at the thought that he would ever be happy to see a red dragon.

* * *

Odahviing knew that something was very, very wrong when he saw a ball of fire erupt from the plains as he flew to assist Refridis and pumped his already strained wings harder. He could see black shapes circling two creatures, one of them he presumed to be the Dovahkiin but even farther away he could see the silver glint of metal armor approaching quickly from the distance.

As he came in for a landing next to the fallen Kili, Odahviing saw just how dire the situation was. Refridis had used a Thu'um and was unable to regain control or think rationally. She turned towards him as he landed and away from her forgotten previous targets, her red eyes glinting dangerously and sending a small shiver down the dragon's spine as he was reminded about the eyes of his previous commander. She let out a shout of challenge at the new enemy but was taken off guard when the Dovah leaped over her, avoiding the scorching hot flames and using his tail to sweep away any orcs that might have gotten in his underfoot before using one clawed paw to pin her down before she could react.

She let out an enraged shriek as she struggled under his claws, yelling all sorts of colorful terms and promising a very painful death in dragontongue. She shouted her flame breath directly to his throat causing him no shortage of pain and discomfort but he held onto her knowing that if she were to get free, there would be no chance to take her by surprise again.

"_**Dilfahliil," **_Odahviing rumbled as he tightened his grip around the wood elf causing a heightened attempt of escape and spreading his wings for take off, _**"Join your companions as I have seen attackers riding from the east to rid of these miserable creatures."**_

"What about Refridis?! What is wrong with her?!" Kili yelled back as he scrabbled to his feet and turned towards the cave.

"_**She will return to the company when she is ready. Do not tell the others of what has happened." **_The great red Dovah replied as he leaped into the sky causing dust and dirt to swirl and temporarily obscuring vision.

Kili was about to yell at the dragon, wanting answers when he heard a loud war horn being blown. He quickly ran the remaining distance, using the dust for cover and slid into the cave where his companions exclaimed worriedly at the burnt edges of his clothes. The conflict just outside of the crack silenced them when the sounds of pounding hooves echoed through the cave along with the screeches of dying orcs. The body of an orc slid down from the cave entrance and stopped unmoving at their feet. Thorin rolled it over with his boot and was met with the gruesome sight of heat-blistered skin and a broken arrow shaft sticking out of its neck. He pulled the arrow out forcefully causing the creature's black blood to begin pooling around its head and inspected it.

"Elves," the Dwarven king spat as he threw the shaft to the ground, giving Gandalf a glare and opening his mouth to argue with him.

Dwalin cut him off by looking around the corner and announcing, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Bofur yelled back.

The dwarves started towards the path before Thorin said, "Wait."

They turned towards their leader whose eyes were looking at Kili, still gasping and trying to get his breath back.

"What happened out there? Where is the elf? I have some words to say to her." Thorin asked, his stare boring holes into the young dwarf.

"_What do I say?! I don't even know the entirety of what happened out there!" _Kili desperately thought, wondering if he should tell Thorin about Odahviing and Refridis' behavior, _"No… I made a promise and I intend to keep it. Next time we meet, I __WILL__ get answers."_

"She… she protected me from the wargs by letting out some massive fire spell that nearly hit all of our attackers. She then took up arms, helped me up and we fought the remaining orcs. We were distracted by the horns when a warg jumped on her and bit her arm making her drop her sword. She told me to run and that she would take care of them. She used other spells to keep the orcs from attacking me as I ran while she tried to release herself from the beast's jaws. The last thing I saw before I jumped into the cave was the warg dragging her away." Kili responded in a trembling voice, hoping that the lie was believable and that Refridis would create a similar story.

Thorin stared at him for a few moments, searching for signs of dishonesty before turning towards the path, "Lets go. It seems as if we have lost our dragonslayer."

Bilbo piped up angrily, "What? You are just going to let her go just like that?!"

"She was taken by the orcs. There is no way she will return alive and if she did, she would be in no shape to continue with the quest. We move forward." Thorin said sharply at the hobbit.

"What if she was a dwarf of this company? Would you-"

"But she is not. I will not sacrifice this quest because some female elf couldn't defend herself," Thorin said turning towards Bilbo, "We. Move. Forward."

"Her name is Refridis and she's helped this company more than once. At least give her the decency of calling her by her name!" Bilbo shouted at his back as he walked away.

Thorin walked towards the beginning of the path and said, "Refridis is gone."

With that, the company began to move towards the tunnels that would hopefully lead them to safety. Some of them talked amongst each other about the wood elf that had made tentative attempts at friendship with some of them. Bilbo waited near the back fuming when Kili walked up beside him.

"Don't worry about Refridis, Master Baggins. I have a feeling we will see her again soon enough," the archer said.

Bilbo looked at him confused, "Why do you say that?"

A strange expression crossed the dwarf's face before he responded, "Just a feeling…"

* * *

_~all speech in the following scene is Dovahzul unless specified. For story's sake (and my sanity) it will be written in English~_

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"_HOW DARE HE HOLD US LIKE SOME MERE HATCHLING! RELEASE US! RELEASE US!" _Refridis shrieked as Odahviing flew away from the field, gaining altitude quickly so that the riders would not spot him.

"_**Enough **__**Dovahkiin! Regain control of yourself!" **_Odahviing growled as he dodged another flame breath that barely missed his head as it fizzled uselessly in the air behind him. _**"You risk losing yourself in this madness!"**_

The Bosmer gave him another angry snarl and using her sharpened nails, attempted to claw at the Dovah's scaled covered toes. Odahviing was quickly loosing his patience with the Bosmer and let the her go. She gave a short scream of surprise at her sudden descent and was caught again, facing away from the dragon's breast so that any shouts would be directed towards the earth rather than him.

"_**Push through the others who cloud you mind and soul. Restrain them!"**_

"_She cannot restrain us! We are free and she cannot come forward! We will be released from this weak form and become the mighty Dovah once more!" _She, or rather those who currently occupied her body, screamed.

Odahviing found the abandoned quarry he was hiding in when Refridis called him and quickly deposited her at the bottom before landing near the top of the pit. She would be unable to climb out without his help as the walls had become steep with erosion and rain, making it a perfect place to contain her until she came to her senses.

Her black hair swung wildly, her hood having fallen long ago, as she looked around for an escape. Her eyes focused on the red dragon watching her, "_You cannot keep us here forever!"_

"_**That is not my intention," **_Odahviing rumbled, _"__**Mal ilit, I know that you can hear me as we have gone through this before. Do not let them take over your spirit. Push them away and seal them. You are strong enough to overcome this."**_

The wood elf was about to give him a roar of rage before it was cut off by a strangled noise. Her body shuddered and collapsed, staining the smooth white rock with blood that still leaked from the holes in her armor.

Refridis gripped her head in pain before whimpering, "Stop. Please."

Odahviing climbed down slowly, placing his feet carefully so that he would not slide down the edge, _**"That's it. They cannot control you if you don't let them."**_

* * *

In her subconscious, the dragons whose souls the wood elf had absorbed writhed and clawed at the cage her own soul had created to contain them. Some of them had managed to sever their bonds during her moment of weakness and were trying to help the others break their own, using their own souls and dragon magick as energy. Sweat rolled down Refridis' face as she gave a war cry before jumping on the back of an elder dragon and stabbing it through the head with a ghostly blade she had conjured. The creature screeched in pain before turning into soul energy and being bound back to her soul. She had been at this ever since she used the Thu'um and she was close to passing out having dispatched seven other dragons.

"_I just hope Kili is okay and that I didn't kill him," _Refridis thought, growling,_ "Damn the Dov to the pits of Oblivion! Should they never have existed I wouldn't be in this situation!"_

The remaining two Dovah, twin frost dragons turned towards their host and let out freezing blasts of ice that caused the floor beneath her feet to become slippery. She conjured a flame cloak to melt the ice around her feet and began running towards the offending parties. She slid under one of the dragons, slashing at its hamstring causing it to collapse with a scream. She jumped over its tail only to be knocked on the floor by the other, her blade slipping from her grasp and disappearing out of existence.

She hit the ice hard and let out a scream as a large amount of pain radiated from her arm telling her it was probably broken. She had no time to recover as the hamstrung dragon let out another icy breath, causing her to get up and move or else risk being frozen. Refridis knew that her magick reserves were running low when she could not summon a flame atronach to help with the battle so instead she conjured another bound sword.

The standing dragon gave a mocking laugh, _**"You are so weak right now, a good blow and you are gone. We are so close to freedom!"**_

"I will NEVER LET YOU FREE!" the Bosmer screamed and ran forward, burying the blade into the ghostly dragon's chest and letting it go as she fell with exhaustion.

The dragon gave a roar before disintegrating into soul energy and being absorbed into her soul. The wood elf gave a tired sigh before getting up and turning to finish off the other dragon. A sound of surprise escaped her lips when she did not see it where it had been crippled and she became hyperaware of her surroundings, trying to find where it had gone.

She let out a blood-curdling scream when she felt claws rake down her back and fell to her knees. The remaining dragon rumbled in glee landing before walking in front of her, dragging its back leg and leaving a bloody trail.

"_**The mighty Dovahkiin, unable to kill even a crippled dragon. To think you killed me when I was at full strength and you were first discovering the extent of your power. It's embarrassing for me really but there are stronger dragons who died in more pathetic ways,"**_the frost dragon said as at flicked its paw at her form causing her to fall onto her bleeding back, _**"Oh, I am going to enjoy this…"**_

The cold did nothing to sooth her injury as small spikes of ice pricked the damaged flesh. It was further aggravated when the dragon placed a heavy paw on her form, her head in between its outstretched claws.

"Stop. Please," She whimpered in pain as the pressure increased, her hands uselessly trying to push the paw off.

"_**Now why would I do that?" **_the Dovah purred, soaking in his victory over the enemy of all dragons.

"Because I would have to do this," Refridis said.

The frost dragon made a noise of confusion before it screeched in pain as a beam of soul energy wrapped around its neck, dragging it towards the soul cage and off of the wood elf. Refridis gave a heaving breath at the sudden release of pressure before standing up shakily and coughing. She trudged after the struggling dragon concentrating hard on keeping the flow of energy around its neck tangible.

"Your mistake," she said tiredly as she conjured another blade into her uninjured hand with what little remained from her magika reserve, "was not killing me quickly."

She brought the sword down forcefully on the dragon's neck, decapitating it. As it dissolved into soul energy and was absorbed, Refridis collapsed, her stamina and magicka drained.

Her vision was already turning dark when a voice like oil reverberated through the air, _**"Well done, Dovahkiin…"**_

Before she was completely removed from her unconsciousness, she swore she saw blood-red eyes watching her from the dark recesses of her mind.

* * *

Odahviing was standing in front of her when she regained control of her own body, a calming rumble reverberating through the quarry.

"_**It is all right mal ilit, you are safe," **_The dragon said, trying to calm the elf who was looking at her surroundings with a panicked expression.

"Kili…" she rasped, switching to common tongue, her throat sore from the rough language of the dragons, "did… did he survive?"

"_**Yes, he is with his companions." **_

"Good… good," Refridis responded as she attempted to get up only to let out a strangled yell of pain and fall back down.

She saw that the gauntlets were heavily damaged and that her entire armor was covered in red and black blood. Carefully and slowly she removed the black leather and metal that protected her, wincing whenever it would brush up against a wound and she was soon left with just her green tunic and black pants. The bite she received from the warg was rather deep and blood had soaked the entire sleeve of the shirt. She attempted to use a restoration spell only to receive a sharp stabbing pain in her head, a sign that she had no magicka left. She reached for her potions bag only to realize with a groan that it was left with the ponies that morning. All she had on her was her weapons, whatever was stored in her armor, and a small bag where she had stored her most valuable things, unwilling to leave them behind.

"_**You were trapped for quite a while this time around," **_Odahviing said in a questioning tone as he laid down around her, his head next to her and he started to gently lick the wound.

Refridis gave a pained hissed at the action as it felt like she had just submerged her arm in boiling water but allowed it since there was no other way to clean the bite and ripped the sleeve off. She relaxed into the Dovah's side and explained, "They are getting stronger and more numerous each time. I am unsure if I will be able to regain control if they continue to grow in strength at the rate they are. I used up all my magicka this time in order to survive and it will take me a while to recover it naturally. "

Odahviing gave a worried hum and Refridis turned to check what was wrong. She felt her blood freeze as she observed the black scales that had spread from the back of her shoulder blades to the top of her shoulders.

"Damn it. DAMN IT!" Refridis yelled as she leaned back into Odahviing's side, small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She had managed not to use the shouts in so long she partially hoped that the scales would have stopped spreading. The more draconic features her body gained, the less in control she felt of her thoughts and emotions, venomous ideas sneaking their way into her conscious that she had to physically concentrate in order not to carry out. It also seemed that the scales was spreading faster and farther with each Thu'um she used.

"_**What matters is that you did not loose yourself," **_The red Dovah said shifting his neck in front of her so that she could access the packs attached to the saddle on his neck from her sitting position.

Refridis slowly rummaged through one of them, pulling out white strips of cloth to use as bandages and a very small health potion, before gently patting Odahviing's neck making him move to give her some space. Wiping her eyes with her uninjured arm and taking a shaky breath, she pulled out her apothecary satchel from the pocket of her discarded armor. She pulled out a small mortar and pestle and added dried blue mountain flowers, a small vial of crushed charred skeever hide and powdered bear claws. Uncorking the health potion, she poured a small amount into the mixture to make a salve and gently rubbed it on the angry red injury before wrapping it the best she could with one arm. The pain was significantly lessened but Refridis knew that the injury would have to be looked at by a healer to insure that no infections would develop as she did not know what kind of diseases the wargs could have, having contracted both Rockjoint and Bone Break Fever from Skyrim's wolves despite her Bosmer heritage.

"What am I going to do _dii fahdon_? I don't know how long I will be able to continue this fight. I just… I just want to rest. Is that so much to ask?" Refridis mumbled as she finished, looking up into the slightly cloudy blue sky.

The red dragon was silent for a moment before following her gaze, _**"We will continue doing what we have been doing for the last millennia. Continue fighting so others do not have to."**_

The two were quiet for the better part of an hour, a comfortable silence enveloping them as they watched the clouds pass as Refridis gained back some of her strenght. After some time, with a small noise of discomfort, she stood up using Odahviing for support.

"I think it would be a good idea to return to the company. Who knows where that path led them to and what I am going to have to explain," The wood elf said as she picked up a discarded bandage and wrapped it around her shoulder, hiding the scales and looking at the small spots of blood that leaked through the cloth-covered bite.

She picked up the Nightingale armor and thumbed the broken and bloodstained leather with a sad look, "What a pity. It's going to take forever to get this properly repaired and cleaned…"

"_**I suggest you wear it anyways. You were last seen with it on and I believe that the dilfahliil Kili would be able to construct a story regarding your disappearance," **_Odahviing rumbled as he got up as well.

Refridis gave him a sharp look of surprise, "You told him not to tell the others? You believe he will keep his promise to us despite what he saw?"

"_**You do not trust easily mal ilit but I believe you made the right choice in trusting him," **_The Dovah said nodding.

Refridis gave a hum and looked back at the damaged armor. With a sigh she began to put it on, feeling disgusting when she slid on the chest piece that smelled of blood and sweat. Leaving her hood and face piece down, she carefully mounted the saddle she had placed on the dragon's neck and shifted until she was in a comfortable position that would not jar her arm too much during flight.

"Lets go, hopefully we will be able to catch up."

The short journey was relatively silent except for the gentle flaps of wings as they sped across the sky and they soon arrived to the rock plain as the sun was beginning its descent across the sky. Refridis spotted the crack where the company had escaped and pointed it out Odahviing landed in the clearing close by. The Bosmer slid off the saddle and looked around, observing as vultures picked at the dead bodies of orcs and wargs. She saw that some of them were unrecognizably burned and looked away shamefully.

"I think it would be best for you to continue hiding for now. I will tell you when I reach the end of the tunnel so that you can know the area of where I am," Refridis said as she searched the hole in the earth, seeing impressions of large footprints in the dusty cave below.

"_**I agree with you. Watch yourself mal ilit and call for me should you need assistance. I only wish I could have been closer for the events that transpired today," **_Odahviing said as he flapped his wings, taking off.

"Do not blame yourself, _lok zeymah_. It could not have been avoided if I wanted to save Kili's life. Take care and may we see each other again soon," she bid the Dovah farewell as she slid into the cave, watching him fly away to parts unknown.

She moved around the dead orc that was lying in a pool of its own blood and proceeded to travel through the narrow pass. It was only a few minutes of walking that she realized the further she followed it, the more of a feeling of peace enveloped her. She made a quick check for magic only to find that it surrounded the entire path and was growing stronger the closer she got to whatever the source was.

The sun was just about to fall behind the mountains when she reached the exit and the sight that was laid out before her made her breathless. Nestled among waterfalls and forest, was a glorious town that shined and reflected the dying rays of light. Small lanterns were lit among the halls and she could see people walking and talking to each other. It was as if everything wrong with the world had missed this little spot of paradise.

A feeling of utter exhaustion took over her, the previous night of no sleep and the battle during the day finally taking their toll. She decided that she would find refuge in the peaceful town for the night and continue her search in the morning, having no doubts that someone would have spotted the dwarven company as they passed by. With that decision in mind, she began her descent of the stone path down to the entrance.

* * *

The dwarves had just been served their "dinner" which they looked at with disdain. While some tried to be respectful towards their hosts choice of food and eat it, others used their hands in order to move the salad and vegetables around looking for something that was more their taste.

Dori leaned over to his younger brother who was holding a leaf of lettuce and whispered, "Try it. Just a mouthful."

"I don't like green food," Ori said sadly as he put it down before asking, "Have they got any chips?"

Dwalin picked up a handful of leaves questioning where the meat was while Oin picked up an onion with his knife and looked at it in disgust.

Kili was not paying much attention to what was around him and was instead observing a female harp player who was staring back. Her hair was black but her eyes did not match the color of a certain wood-elf that he was thinking of. Still, she was quite attractive, despite her elven heritage, so he gave her a smiling wink before turning towards his meal and seeing Dwalin giving him a stern look.

Realizing that he had been caught, he quickly tried to cover it up, "Can't say I fancy Elf maids myself. Too thin. They're all high cheekbones and creamy skin; not enough facial hair for me. Although…" He paused as another elf walked behind him, "That one there's not bad."

Dwalin glanced up slightly at the elf and then back at Kili before saying, "That's not an elf maid."

Kili looked confused and looked at the elf as they turned around and quickly realized that, yes, it definitely was not an elf maid. He felt his cheeks burn as Dwalin winked at him and the other dwarves burst out laughing at the young Durin's mistake.

He looked down at his plate and let his thoughts wander once again to another elf, one who currently wasn't with the company, _"Whatever is wrong with her, I hope Refridis is alright. Odahviing said she would return to us but when I wonder? I need answers… I'm sure she would appreciate the company of others of her own kind," _He thought bitterly, surprising himself with the small amount of envy he felt, _"Am I…? No, I am not jealous of some elves simply because they share heritage with my friend. Friend? When did she become my friend? Probably when I decided to lie to Thorin in order to keep her secrets under wraps. Besides, Refridis looks nothing like these elves. They have sickly pale skin while hers is like bronze, her eyes like rubies and unlike the dull browns and blues of this group…"_

Kili stopped his train of thought, wondering why he was thinking so heavily about his missing companion physical attributes. He was distracted, however, when an elven guard rushed up the stairs to where Gandalf, Elrond, and Thorin were eating.

"_My lord Elrond!" _The guard spoke in Sindarin to his superior, _"Excuse me for the interruption but an injured traveler approaches Rivendell saying that she faced the orcs you hunted this afternoon. She calls herself Refridis Silduaan of Skyrim."_

All conversation stopped as the dwarves immediately began to listen, having understood the name that the guard said as it was not translated.

Elrond gave a worried expression and stood up, walking away quickly with the guard from the gathering, _"Bring her to the healing rooms. How badly is she injured?"_

Gandalf stood up to follow the elvish lord but turned towards Thorin and said loud enough for all to hear, "Looks like our dragonslayer has returned to us."

The dwarven king gave a small scowl at the wizard's back as he left while the rest of the company cheered for their member's return. Bilbo was smiling broadly and turned towards Kili to say something but saw that the dwarf had a very distressed look on his face.

"_I wonder why?" _the hobbit thought.

* * *

**Sorry that the chapter is short this time around and not as detailed as the others! I didn't want to put off posting it more than I already have without giving you all an explanation to why the later chapters might come out less often.**

**This is my first real try at writing a battle scene so hopefully it didn't come out as confusing as it could have been. Also, I do not know elvish and while I looked up for some translators and dictionaries, I did not feel as if I had enough knowledge of the language to comfortably put it into my story. Some quick translations: Staavek Zeymahzin- The Missing Companion (title of chapter), Dii Fahdon- my friend, lok zeymah- sky brother**

**Just a quick run down of the differences between soul energy and magicka energy. When the Dragonborn, or anyone who has practiced the way of the voice, uses a Thu'um it consumes a different kind of much more powerful energy than that of magicka. Mastering the use soul energy is incredibly difficult and takes years of practice as it is impossible to truly control (think of a power similar to that of a small sun) so instead one learns to redirect it for use (in the case of shouts, outwards for attacks). Once soul energy is used, it cannot be replaced (an exception for the Dragonborn, who absorbs other souls) and if one loses a significant amount of the energy, they either become shells of themselves or die. Dragons have very vast limits as they are born with much bigger souls (part of the reason why no one has captured a dragon soul in a soul gem) and are able to naturally recover the energy, slowly, due to how they were created. The Dovahkiin is born with an innate sense of how to use this energy for their own uses so it is easier for them to manipulate than one who has to learn the skill. So in addition to absorbing the knowledge of a shout from a dragon, they also restore their own source of soul energy. Soul energy can be used as an incredibly powerful replacement for magicka energy but using it is very risky and should only be for an "in case of an emergency" situation as a mistake in redirection could result in some catastrophic consequences…**

**Anyways, hope that little blurb wasn't too much to take in but I do believe it had to be explained for story purposes as it may become important in the future as I develop the idea some more *hint hint*. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to your reviews, comments, and questions! Sorry once again for the lateness~**


	12. Rivendell

***peeks out* sorry, I swear I didn't mean for it to come out so late. ****Let me just begin by saying that this chapter killed me writing it because I was stuck on one particular part and any way I wrote it didn't want to fit into the rest of the story. Between college, work, studying for midterms (which I should be doing right now instead of finishing this), and having a bit of free time to myself it has been pretty difficult since I'm not use to it but I've been managing. Plus there's been a guy following me around that I'm about to cuss out to leave me the fuck alone because of how annoying he is (seriously, he's been with me each break between class for four weeks and I haven't been able to write because fuckboy keeps trying to have a conversation even though I am obviously not interested). Anyways, those are my reasons for why this is late (and maybe also the fact that I wasted one break period learning how to read and write Sindarin). Special thanks to reviewers: Basia Orci, Victor, Ny'Kle, and SparksofBravery! Also thanks to those who have followed and favorited~ Onto the questions and responses (also, holy shit, 16 more till a hundred)! **

**To Victor:**** Thanks for your reviews and questions. The first will be answered in the chapter, you will have to wait and see for the reaction, I actually haven't seen Godzilla so I can't really answer that question, and don't sweat the need to explain yourself. I will leave you the answer of just wait and see ;)**

**To Ny'Kle: ****I'm glad you liked the mental battle, I was a bit worried that it was cheesy but I guess not! I have not read Seraphina but it sounds like a very interesting book. Thank you for your review!**

**To SparksofBravery:**** Thank you so much for that complement! I am blushing in my room reading over it. I'm glad you like my dragonborn OC as I have put a lot of thought into her (not to mention many hours of in game play). I saw that lots of skyrim stories and crossovers don't include Odahviing and it makes me sad because I like the dragon and his snark. I love long reviews so I do not mind yours :) **

**Alrighty then, I won't hold you back anymore. Hope you enjoy the story!**

**Skyrim and Charactes belong to Bethesda**

**Hobbit and Characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien**

* * *

As Refridis slowly approached the beautifully carved gateway into the town, she became very aware that this was not a place of men. Besides the large statutes that watched over the bridge, the guards were talking to each other as the Bosmer got closer. One moved from his post towards her, his features similar to those of the Altmer and her hand twitched towards one of her swords, her previous experiences with the High Elves making her extremely cautious. He spoke to her in a language she couldn't quite understand, though she caught the meaning of a couple words.

"I'm sorry, I cannot understand what you are saying," Refridis said politely when he finished with a questioning tone.

"You do not speak Sindarin?" the guard asked.

Refridis gave him an annoyed look before replying, "Obviously not if I just told you that I could not understand you."

The guard brushed off the comment before repeating in common tongue, "I asked who you are and what is your business in Rivendell?"

The Bosmer shifted uncomfortably, knowing that the dwarven quest was supposed to be kept secret and not knowing enough about the landscape to come up with a credible excuse but answered anyways, "My name is Refridis Silduaan of Skyrim, It is a land very far from here and am searching for some relatives that I was told-"

Before she could finish spinning her lie, a searing wave of pain raced up her spine, causing her to stop talking and crumple in on herself. The guard rushed immediately to her side, his question forgotten as he kneeled down to the Bosmer's level. Now that he was closer, he saw the damage along with the multiple bloodstains that were previously hidden from his view due to the armor's dark color.

"You are injured, how did this happen?" He asked, slightly alarmed at the state the wood-elf was in.

"I was attacked… by an Orc pack… my arm was bitten by a Warg but I managed to get away," Refridis said slowly, trying not to cry out when the guard raised her bad arm to inspect.

The guard holding her turned towards his companion and barked an order that caused him to run off into the town before turning back to her, "We will take you to our healing rooms. A Warg bite is a very serious injury that is prone to infection."

"Thank you…" Refridis mumbled, mentally groaning at the fact that she probably caught an illness and fighting to stay conscious.

After an attempt to carry her to the room that was quickly shut down by the stubborn wood elf, the guard carefully lifted her up by her good arm and allowed her to lean heavily on him as they walked down the long and winding hallways. They passed a multitude of elves that looked at the Bosmer with concern before hurrying away. Refridis in her bleary state of mind, quickly lost the path to the exit incase she would have to escape and despite the peaceful feeling that permeated the air, she was still very nervous about being surrounded by these elves. The guard led her in to a room over looking one of the waterfalls and Refridis almost cried out in happiness at the sight of the bed.

"Lord Elrond will soon be here to help heal your wounds. Do you need help removing your armor?" the guard asked quietly as she stumbled away from him and held onto one of the bedposts for support.

"No, no I'm fine," she said as she gently waved him towards the door, "Thank you for your assistance."

"I will be right outside if you need anything," he said as he closed the door behind him.

Refridis let out a sigh of relief as the elf left before looking towards the bed. She did not want to stain the clean, white sheets with her dirty clothes and armor but she could feel that she was near the point of collapse. She carefully removed her gauntlets and chestpiece once again and grimaced at the now red bandage on her arm before sitting down on a nearby chair. She was about to take off her boots when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Refridis said, frowning slightly at how pitiful her voice seemed.

A dark-haired elf walked into the room and, to her surprise and joy, Gandalf came in behind him. She silently thanked the Divines as the two approach her.

"Refridis! I did not think we would see you again after you went missing," Gandalf said, a tone of curiosity lacing his words.

The Bosmer gave a sly laugh, before wincing, "Can't get rid of me that easily Master Gandalf."

The elf cleared his throat slightly, interrupting the exchange, "My name is Lord Elrond, Keeper of Rivendell. I wish I could welcome you in a more appealing manner but my guards told me that you were injured."

Refridis tiredly lifted up her wrapped arm for him to look at. Elrond quickly and skillfully took off the soiled bandages and looked at the bite with confusion at the greyish-green cream that was spread over it.

"A salve of my own making," Refridis said, answering his non-verbal question, "It helps to stave off infection and speed up healing. I would use my own magicka to help it heal but unfortunately I used it all up with my battle with the Orcs."

"Yes, Gandalf told me of your magical capabilities on our way here. This is quite a nasty bite as I can see that it has also affected your upper arm as well," Elrond said as he moved to remove the bandages from her upper arm and shoulder.

Refridis panicked slightly, letting her good arm shoot out and grab his hand before it could touch her, "That part is fine and does not need your attention," she said in a low dangerous tone.

Both the elf and the wizard were bewildered by her behavior before Elrond said, "It is essential that a Warg bite is cleaned out thoroughly otherwise you run the risk of loosing the limb to infection or death."

"It's. fine." The Bosmer repeated through clenched teeth and letting go of the elf's hand.

"What is the meaning of this Refridis? Show Lord Elrond your injuries. I will not have you traveling with the company when you run the risk of dropping dead halfway to our destination," Gandalf ordered in a gentle manner.

Refridis glanced between the two others before questioning, "Gandalf, if I may ask, how much do you know about my reputation as Skyrim's dragonslayer?"

Elrond looked at Gandalf in confusion while the wizard was taken back by the question that seemed to have come out of nowhere, "I do not know why that is important right now but I heard of you from a traveler from a tavern. Strange fellow, dressed in purple with white hair talking nonsense but then he spoke of a dragon slayer from Skyrim. I knew that my friend Savos came from the land and I contacted him for information only for you to respond instead."

"Damn the day I met that Daedric bastard, nothing but trouble. So you know nothing of my methods of killing dragons?" Refridis asked, slightly disheartened as she hoped he would at least know of the Dovahkiin legend.

"What is all this talk of slaying dragons? Gandalf?" Elrond questioned, giving the grey wizard a suspicious look.

"I hardly think that your methods are of importance. What is this about?" the grey wizard responded towards the wood elf, giving Elrond a look that meant that he would explain later.

Refridis hesitated slightly before giving a defeated sigh and explaining, "There is a reason why I am known across Skyrim and it is not just because I kill dragons. Any trained group of town guards is able to take one down even if the body count would be high. No, it is because I am the last of the Dovahkiin, rare individuals who has been blessed by Akatosh to gain the gift of being born with the blood and soul of Dov and naturally learn and speak their ancient and powerful tongue called Thu'um. In other words, I am a dragon in all but physical form and am capable of the same magical feats but my potential is hidden as a mortal.

However, with this power comes great danger," she continued, slowly unrolling the bandages and revealing the black scales in the dim candlelight, "I can absorb the souls of the dragons that I slay and gain their power but the more draconic magick I use, the more of my true nature is revealed. With the physical change, comes a dangerous change in thought and temper that I cannot fully control all of the time. Kili is lucky that those Orcs were there to distract me and very lucky to have survived today."

The silence in the room was strangely deafening as Gandalf and Elrond stared at the scales on her shoulders, taking their time to process the new information. Refridis looked up in their direction and fidgeted slightly in her seat while waiting for a reaction with bated breath and a nervous stare.

"How far do those scales spread?" Elrond asked to her surprise.

"They… all down my back I suppose. I haven't had a chance to get a good look and see how far," she answered in confusion, "are you… are you not afraid of my capabilities and who I am?"

"You are injured and seem in control of yourself now. Though we will discuss the matter later, as long as you do not threaten my people, you may find refuge here for the time being," the elven lord said as he treated the wounds, fingers barely brushing against the scales making her twitch each time.

She gave the kind elf a silent thanks before turning to Gandalf, "I hope you can forgive me for keeping this information secret. I am sure you understand why I had to."

"It certainly would have been difficult to explain to the company that they would be traveling with a dragon," the grey wizard finally said, "I do not understand why you would hide it from me, however. I could sense that there was a large amount of power within you but didn't put much thought into it. It was Radagast that pointed out that something was strange about you."

"I have spent far too long a time being revered and feared in my own country for my legend to spread here. I ask that if you wish for me to continue traveling with the dwarves that whatever is spoken of within this room stays here," the Bosmer said, silently hinting to Elrond that her condition was not to be discussed with others.

"You have my word," Gandalf replied.

"Mine as well but be reassured that this issue will be discussed again," Elrond answered as well, wrapping her arm in clean bandages after spreading some cool salve that felt heavenly on the wood elf's arm, "You should get some sleep to help you recover. If you have been traveling with the dwarves that have found shelter here, you are very much in need of a good night's rest."

"They are here as well?" Refridis asked, trying to stifle a yawn that attempted to escape at the mention of sleeping.

"Yes, all of them safe. We will leave you for the night and return in the morning," the wizard said as he left the room, "Pleasant dreams Refridis."

Elrond stopped at the door and turned towards her, "there is a bath attached to the room if you wish to use it though I caution that you do not wet the bandages. I will have someone come by with a fresh change of cloths in a little while. A guard will be stationed at the door to stop anyone from disturbing you so if you need anything just call out."

When the door was closed and she was left alone, Refridis let out a scoff, _"More like make sure I don't escape and cause damage."_

Though the bed was gently whispering her name, she could not stand the way she smelled. The Bosmer got up from her chair and walked into the bathing room that was connected. There was a large bath in the center of the room and the air was humid from the steaming water that bubbled up from what might have been hot springs. The faint smell of flowers made the tired wood elf relax and she quickly shed the rest of her clothing before carefully dipping herself in.

The hot waters were heavenly against her aching muscles and helped to sooth her mind. Refridis found several small vials filled with oil and picked one up. Uncapping it, she gave it a quick whiff and was able to identify the smell of mint and jasmine mixed within. She poured a small amount into the water and the scent quickly spread throughout the room. The Bosmer desperately wished that she could completely submerge herself in it but grudgingly refrained, as it would have undone her healer's hard work. She was quite surprised that they had taken the news of her identity so well but she knew that it would come up in future conversations. With a sigh, she undid her braids and dunked her head back into the water to get her hair wet. When she came back up, she carefully worked the big tangles out with her good hand and grabbed a small towel that was next to the bath and scrubbed her self clean of the mud, sweat, and blood. The water was a muddy red when she stepped out but was becoming clear as it flowed out of a grate and hot water kept bubbling in.

She wrapped a warm towel around herself and peeked into the room where she would be resting. She was pleased to find that someone had come in and placed cloths onto her bed and quickly dried her self off. She put on the underclothes and breathed a sigh of relief when they covered her now scaled shoulders, silently thanking Elrond for the small act of kindness, and slipped into the simple green nightgown that was left. It pooled around her feet as it was made for someone who was taller in stature than her but she wasn't about to turn down the comfortable cloths.

Refridis sat down onto the bed and pulled out a small comb from her pack to tame her wild hair. When all the knots and tangles were removed, she made a single braid out of her still damp hair, too tired to bother with any of her more favored hairstyles, and collapsed onto the pillow and fell into a heavy sleep as the moon just began its ascent.

* * *

It felt like it had only been an hour that she had been asleep before Refridis was violently jerked out of her sleep. She sat up, groggy and confused to look around the room, her hand resting on the dagger on her nightstand, but saw nothing that might have caused her to wake up. What she heard, however, was a barely noticeable whisper in the air.

_"I know those voices," _Refridis thought as she rummaged through her bag and pulled out the dragon claw she had found in the troll hoard, _"I would know them from anywhere."_

She grabbed her twin swords and secured them on the slightly long dress before peeking outside of her door. The Bosmer scowled when she saw a guard faithfully keeping duty over the room and tiptoed back to her cloths. Though it was in need of washing and repair, Nocturnal's hood was in relatively good shape as she buckled it around her neck. Giving a quick prayer, she sneaked over to the door, making sure to keep to the shadows so that she was nearly invisible and carefully exited the room and traveled down the hall without being called out.

She gave a breath of relief when she found the stairs and crept down them, making sure not to make a sound despite dragging the long nightgown. The wood elf kept an eye out for anyone who might have been wandering the halls so late at night as she descended further and further into the town. The stairs stopped halfway to her destination so she had to search the floor for another way down. She knew she was getting closer as the whispers had risen in volume to a constant murmur in her mind. She passed multiple rooms, making sure to look in them for anything that might have been useful and of value before continuing on. She walked by a mural that depicted a battle between a warrior enveloped in light and another enveloped in shadow. Her eyes were drawn to a ring of gold on the dark figure, the only spot of color on him. She stared at it for a moment, wondering what it's significance must have been to be included on the painting before looking to her right and seeing the remains of a shattered sword being held by a graceful statue.

_"What might have caused a sword to shatter in such matter?" _she thought as she continued on her way.

Refridis had to hold back a squeal of delight when she discovered a massive library filled with books whose titles she could barely read or understand.

_"Oh what Hermaus Mora would do to get his hands on this collection."_

The Bosmer was tempted to stop in the room and look through a couple of books but the heavy weight of the claw on her side reminded her of her quest. She made a quick mental note of where the room was before finding another set of stairs that led further down. As she continued her descent the town changed from carved smooth stone to rockier and more natural formations. The voices became stronger and Refridis found herself entering an abandoned cave that had water trickling down into its mouth. It was very dark except for when the light of the moon appeared in patches where the ceiling had caved in and slightly illuminated the way. With only a few minutes of walking she saw the gentle glow of fire from one of the corners and approached it carefully. The stone had once again become carved but instead of the gentle and elegant carvings of the elves, the words and depictions of the Ancient Nords decorated the wall where a seal rested in the middle of a locked door. Seeing the tools around the area, she could tell that the elves must have made an attempt to gain access to the chamber within but were probably blocked off by the magic that protected the area.

Refridis pulled out the silver and gold claw to look at the pattern in its palm. Though age had worn down the code, she could tell that the figures carved were of a fox, a dragon, and a raven and rotated the stone wheels until the pattern matched up. Carefully she placed the claws in the stone holes and pressed down until she heard a click and turned it. The gears behind the door gave a groaning creak, struggling to work after centuries of disused and opened slowly.

The chamber inside was not unlike the barrows of Skyrim and familiarity washed over the Bosmer as she cautiously entered the room with a ready sword in her good hand. She wished that she could have brought her bow with her but the injury on her arm would have made it useless. Refridis turned around quickly when the stone door gave a small slam as it closed and locked itself. Taking this into account, she was very careful where she placed her feet, spotting several booby traps and traveled further into the barrow. There was a surprising lack of draugr that made her very nervous as the path gently ascended and the voices in her mind chanted in Dovazul. She made it to the word wall's chamber without even a trace of the undead warriors, not even a skeleton rising as she approached the glowing words carved in stone.

_"This is far too easy. Something is not right..." _Refridis thought to herself as she looked around the room trying to spot some sort of trick but found none.

The wood elf took the time to look in every nook and cranny, just in case she missed something despite the pounding in her head as the voices invaded her thoughts. When nothing was found she approached the word wall with her eyes closed and sat. She took a deep breath and steeled herself before opening her eyes and reading the text. Her senses were immediately assaulted as the voices rose to a painful roar, her vision became blurred, and blood began to leak out of her nose but she kept herself steady making sure to read all of the text scratched into the wall. As the knowledge enveloped her she let out a gasp, unknowingly having held her breath as she was reading. The word was not a strange one and was actually one she used in conversation often.

_**Ofan- **__Give_

In her concentration to learn the word, she did not notice as a misty gas filled the chamber, taking the form of a ghostly specter. Refridis only barely managed to raise her sword to stop the ethereal blade that swung at her, here sensitive ears hearing the slight displacement of air making her aware that she was not alone. The ghost was a very old, powerful looking Nord that snarled at her with rotted teeth as he swung again making her roll right in order to avoid being sliced in two.

The Bosmer quickly got to her feet and into a defensive stance as she waited for the Nord to attack her again. Despite being thousands of years old, the ghost was surprisingly agile, obviously being a skilled swordsman when he was alive. Refridis had to stay on her toes as swing after swing attempted to decapitate her. It was during one of her evasive maneuvers that she tripped on the long hem of her dress and fell heavily on her back. A burst of stars flooded her vision as her head made connection with stone and she dropped her sword to cradle her head in pain. Luckily when she looked at her hand there was no trace of blood but she was distracted by loud footsteps as the approached her. She looked up to see the Nord towering over her, his sword raised above his head to give a deadly blow. Out of magicka and not wanting to use a shout so soon after another, Refridis delved into her soul for energy. She raised her hand and let out a powerful blast of blinding white light that made the specter dissolve with a pained screech, the sword clattering uselessly onto the ground.

Refridis relaxed on the floor, hissing slightly as her head rested on the cool stone. There would definitely be a large bump the next morning. The small burst of soul energy made her exhaustion return and it felt like she never slept that night.

"Hopefully it will still be dark enough to sleep when I leave," the wood elf muttered to herself.

She stood and picked up the sword, inspecting it to see if it was worth taking with her. Refridis nearly mistook the black blade to be made of ebony ore but it did not have the characteristic silver patterns that normally decorated the swords. In addition, it was as if it was exuding a dark aura and felt strange in her hands. She decided against bringing it with her not liking the malicious power that surrounded it and placed it in front of the word wall to be forgotten. She rummaged through the large chest next to the wall and found a necklace made of delicately crafted black metal and a large red ruby at its center.

_"How pretty," _Refridis thought to herself as she clipped it around her neck and gathered whatever gold was stored in the bottom of the chest.

The Bosmer followed a small stream out of the chamber and down a tunnel that smelled of fresh air. At the end, she found a lever that would open a secret door to the outside and pressed it down. To her pleasant surprise, it opened in quiet area of Rivendell. She tiptoed out, careful not to splash the water too much and closed the door, making sure that it was locked once again and sealed the chamber within. She was about to try and find her way back to her room when she heard murmuring coming out of one of the rooms down the hall.

* * *

"Our business is no concern of elves," a deep voice that could only belong to Thorin grumbled.

Refridis slipped quietly into the room, hiding herself in a shadowed corner and waiting for the interaction to play out. She was delighted to see Bilbo within the group of those present. She wanted to talk to him and reassure him that she was all right, knowing that the hobbit's personality probably made him worry about her disappearance. Her attention turned back to the bigger picture as Gandalf made a frustrated noise.

"Save me from the stubbornness of Dwarves. Your pride will be your downfall. You stand here in the presence of one of the few in Middle-earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond."

The dwarven king looked silently annoyed at being ordered but thought quietly for a few seconds, looking at the folded map in his hands before straightening himself out and he handing it to Elrond. Balin protested the action but was brushed aside as he handed it off.

Elrond looked at it with curiosity before directing a question towards Thorin, "Erebor. What is your interest in this map?"

Thorin was about to reply with their quest but Gandalf interrupted him, "It's mainly academic. As you know, this sort of artifact sometimes contains hidden text. You still read Ancient Dwarvish do you not?"

Elrond gave the grey wizard a sharp look, piecing the different clues together and probably figuring out their true purpose. Nonetheless he walked a little bit away looking at the map. A stray moonbeam hit the map and Elrond lifted it into the moonlight some more, having found something.

"_Cirth ithil," _the elf spoke in wonder.

"Moon runes. Of course," Gandalf translated, acting as if he knew exactly what would have been found before turning to the others, "An easy thing to miss.

"Well in this case, that is true;" Elrond explained, "moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written."

"Can you read them?" Thorin asked hopefully.

"Not right now, not this year or for a few more. These runes were written on a Midsummer's Eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago. Midsummer is still two days away, its proximity only just allowing me to find the runes, and the moon will just have started to wane. There is nothing to be done. I am sorry," Elrond responded in an apologetic tone.

The shoulders of the dwarves slumped slightly at the news before Thorin asked angrily, "So this journey has been for naught?"

"Not necessarily," Refridis said as she stepped out of the shadows.

The group turned around in surprise at the sudden intrusion to look at the wood-elf as she approached. Bilbo gained a wide smile when he saw her, Balin gave her a small grin while Thorin gave her a scowl but a respectful nod as well.

"You should be resting," Elrond began to reprimand her, "however did you get pass the guard at your door?"

"Couldn't sleep so I went exploring. It was pretty easy to get past him, but it was no fault of his own. He just happened to be assigned to one of the best escape artists in Tamriel," The Bosmer answered, laughing slightly.

"What did you mean by not necessarily? It's not like you can change the phases of the moon, no matter how powerful of a wizard you might be," Thorin questioned.

"I might not be able to but I know someone who can and they will not be pleased when I call in my favor."

* * *

**This was originally a bit longer but I felt that this was a good place to cut it off since I want to make Rivendell a multi-chapter scene. Hope you enjoyed reading it and I will try to update within the next two weeks (but don't hold me to it)! Also bonus points to those who can guess who the tavern man was that Gandalf overheard!**

**Reviews, questions, follows, and favorites are highly appreciated as I like feedback on how I am doing! Hope you lovelies have a wonderful day~**


	13. A Battle and A Song

**Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since the last update but I swear to you all that this chapter was supposed to be posted last Monday. Every single time I sat down to write this, within five minutes I would be interrupted by something or someone and the chapter that was halfway done was deleted so I had to rewrite it over again. Also, college is finally picking up as we head towards the end of the semester. Who the hell assigns seven essays within a week?**

**Enough of that though, I want to thank everyone for sticking with this fic despite its current sparse updates. Thank you to the reviewers: DecrepitSoul, Lotheon, Victor, Dis Lexic, Jmw, and PassiveResistance! All of you were correct on your guess of Sheogorath! To the new readers, favoriters, and followers, welcome and thank you for your support! Also, a question to you all: should I continue responding to reviews at the top of the chapter or move them to the bottom?**

**Question time!**

**To DecrepitSoul:**** This chapter might feel a bit more transitional since I needed to fill the space between Refridis' arrival and the Midsummer's Eve. The word and her scales will very much be part of the plot but I won't give anything away. :)**

**To Victor:**** He seems to have taken the hint since he's been following me around a lot less, so I'm glad for that. There will be other being who find out about her nature but that will happen as the story goes along. I am planning for Lucia and Sofie to make a reappearance but I still haven't cemented on how that will happened (it will though!). Thank you for your reviews!**

**To Dis Lexic:**** Who knows what goes on in that crazy Daedra's head? :)**

**To PassiveResistance:**** Well as we all know, a bunch of shit is going to go down in Middle-Earth within the next couple of years so it isn't too surprising if the princes of all things bad are interested in the area. There will be quite a reaction for what I am planning (I'm so excited to write it since it's one of the main scenes I've been thinking of since the beginning of the fic). Also yes, many of the things I pick up in-game end up in a chest in my house since I tend to hoard everything I find. I once, very stupidly, went through a massive Chaurus nest and picked up all the eggs I could find. Needless to say, I was encumbered with over 400 eggs that I refused to drop, not including the ones I gave to Faendal to carry. I try not to have too many filler chapters since I'm not very good with them (though I apologize for this chapter since it is sort of a filler). Also, you have no idea what I plan on doing to our poor main character ;D**

**Alrighty, hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Skyrim and Co. belongs to Bethesda**

**Hobbit and Co. belongs to J.R.R. Tolkein**

**Refridis belongs to Me!**

* * *

Under the shadow of night, the howls of wargs echoed from a dark fortress announcing the return of the Orc scouts. Those resting gathered around the party as they walked up the steps towards their leader, eager to hear the news of their travels. As they approached, a large white Warg snarled at them, making sure that they did not approach her master too closely, a tall pale Orc who faced away from them.

"The Dwarves," Yazneg, the leader of the scouts began nervously in Black Speech, "Master… we lost them. Ambushed by Elvish filth and attacked by a-"

"I don't want excuses…" Azog growled as he turned around, the light of the moon shining off the metal arm and claw that replaced what he had lost in the battle of Azanulbizar, "I want the head of the Dwarf King!"

"We-we were outnumbered and had heavy damage dealt to us from a sorcerer woman who accompanied the dwarves before the elves arrived. She-she controlled a dragon! There was nothing we could do." Yazneg stuttered as Azog walked towards him him.

Azog slowed at his words, "Dragon? You say that this woman could control a fire-drake?"

Yazneg quickly nodded his head, "Yes! It was unlike anything I have ever seen. We had surrounded her and another dwarf when she let out this massive amount of fire from her mouth and began to tear my scouts apart with her bare hands! It is why I have these burns on my face. The dragon landed a few moments later and took her away as the elves began firing arrows. I barely escaped with my life!"

The pale Orc was now in front of Yazneg and stroked the side of his face; palm running over the blistered skin and the scout leader gave a hiss. Azog's expression turned dark and he lifted Yazneg by the throat with his metal arm.

"Far better you had paid with it," he spat, before throwing him with a roar into a pillar close to a group of wargs who tore him apart. He turned towards a fellow rider unfazed while the other quaked in fear at the sight of the brutal act, "The Dwarf-scum will show themselves soon enough. Send out word, there is a price on their heads! Bring me the sorcerer alive! She will be useful for our plans…"

The Orcs quickly leapt onto their Wargs and ran off into the darkness to carry out Azog's will.

* * *

Refridis blinked sleepily at the pale dawn light that filtered through the windows as a quick knock echoed in her room. She had left the meeting almost as quickly as she had arrived at Elrond's adamant orders that she should rest but she still felt exhausted from her trek through the barrow and her fight afterwards.

A female voice asked, "May I come in?"

"Might as well," the Bosmer muttered back loud enough for her to hear.

"I brought you some more clothes to wear for your stay as I am sure that wandering around in an evening gown is not at the top of your to-do list," she responded kindly, "If you wish, I can find someone to repair your armor?"

Refridis sat up with a sigh and looked at the intruder who disturbed her sleep. She was a rather youthful but, then again, one never knew what age an elf might actually be. Her hair was a slightly curled brown and eyes that matched. In her delicate hands, she carried a dark blue dress and a wine red tunic with brown pants.

"You are right, I don't think it would be proper for me to go around like this, though I am sure the reactions would be amusing" Refridis answered with a small laugh, taking the clothing, "Thank you, for these and the ones you gave me last night. I would very much appreciate if my armor could be repaired, it is very dear to me."

The Bosmer gave the she-elf a nod as she disappeared behind the door with her armor and was once again left alone. Refridis undid her braid, her hair still slightly damp and wavy and brushed it straight. She took the time to put it up in to a more complex hairstyle, feeling that her normal hairstyle was rather inadequate compared to the beauty of the town but made sure that it would remain out of her way for what she planned that day.

Though her arm was still sore from the Warg bite and she could feel the bump on her head as she worked her hair, she planned to get Bilbo's sword training started. The hobbit's lack of weapons training made her nervous in case he was ever separated from the group and needed to defend himself, that and Thorin's poor attitude towards the Halfling at their first meeting made it a necessary goal in her mind. She unraveled the bandage from her arm to check on its progress and to her surprise it was healing rather well and quickly.

"_I wonder if it is the herbs the elves used or my own circumstances. This looks like it has been healing for days,"_ Refridis thought as she slipped out of her gown and began to put on her pants.

Looking around the healing room, she spotted some clean bandages and quickly wrapped her injuries and, for good measure, wrapped the scales that were beginning to creep down her arm. Afterwards, she put on the tunic carefully so that she did not mess up her hair to badly and slid on a pair of dark leather boots. The ruby from the necklace glistened in the rising sun and Refridis held it in her hand with a curious look, finally having a chance to get a good look at it.

There were no magical energies around it to tell her that it was enchanted though it was obviously designed to have the capabilities and the black metal that held the stone had an elegant design to them.

"_There is no way that the ancient Nords could have created this, I wonder how it got in the barrow?" _Refridis mused for a while before letting it go, the pendant bouncing slightly off her skin before settling.

As the Bosmer walked out of her room, the guard on duty snapped to attention, causing her to think that he'd probably dozed off at some point during dawn.

"Good morning!" Refridis said, attempting to be friendly despite her early awakening.

The guard gave her a nod before saying, "Lord Elrond has invited you and the dwarves to dine with him this morning. Do you need to be accompanied?"

"No, no. Don't worry about me, I will manage on my own," she responded, "I believe, however, you should get some rest. Wouldn't want anyone to catch you sleeping on the job."

The guard looked at her confused, "I was merely meditating, elves do not need sleep like that of man."

Refridis gave him a curious hum before walking away, it was only after going through a few twists and turns the she realized that maybe going off on her own wasn't such a good idea as she was completely and utterly lost. There were no elves around whom she could ask for directions so she kept on going straight.

To her relief, after a few minutes of wandering, she began to hear the conversation and shouts of her Dwarven companions from ahead and quickened her pace. She was about to turn a corner when she spotted Elrond with another elf looking with shock and disgust from a nearby ledge and had only a moment to wonder what had caused their reaction before she saw for herself.

Now Refridis had spent many of her days alongside men, male elves, and other masculine creatures during times of war and had seen many in various states of undress when she would help the restoration mages with their work but nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared her for the sight that was twelve dwarves bathing and running around slapping each others with soaked towels.

She felt her face turn scarlet and leaned against the rock to wait for them to notice her, making sure that her eyes did not wander south. When they weren't stubbornly refusing her help and being suspicious of every little motive, they actually seemed like a lot of fun. It reminded her of the Thieves Guild when they would get a new shipment of Black-Briar Mead, courtesy of their agreement with the Jarl.

It seemed like fate had decided to have some fun when Kili finally caught her gaze and looked confused for a moment before realizing his situation and ducking down into the water with a mortified look and a yelp. The festivities of the dwarves stopped at their companion's reaction so they all heard a throat clearing behind them. The Bosmer had enough sense to look away before they turned towards the sound, certain that her face was a brilliant crimson from her embarrassment.

"Lord Elrond has invited us to breakfast this morning…," Refridis said, "I believe I took a wrong turn."

There was a moment of silence before someone started to chuckle and pretty soon she heard many of the dwarves laughing and cheering.

"What's so funny?" she asked, her cheeks still radiating warmth.

"Oh lass," one of the dwarves said, Bofur she guessed, "We honestly didn't know if you would return to us or not with the story that Kili told us! That, and the fact that you have a sense of humor!"

"Funnily enough, Bosmer are known to be the only elves with a sense of humor in my country," Refridis informed them with a scowl, "You lack faith in me if you believe a dragon slayer can't take down a few overgrown wolves and orcs."

"I'm sure some of us would like to invite you over and ask how in Mahal's named you survived but I don't think you would appreciate the timing," someone shouted at her.

Refridis gave a humorous snort, "That would be a very correct guess. I will tell you all at the breakfast table."

"Why not now? Don't you like the view?" another taunted, definitely Fili.

"That question will remain unanswered as either choice has consequences," she yelled back, her face once again becoming flush and walking away, "I will see you all once you've put on clothes!"

As she climbed down the steps quickly, the dwarves finished up their baths and began to get dressed, stomachs rumbling at the prospect of food.

Kili was still bright red when he slipped his shirt over his head. He asked his brother nervously, "How long do you think she was there?"

The golden-haired Durin hummed, putting on his boots, before answering, "I spotted her watching us for a couple of minutes before you went off sounding like a chicken with its head cut off. Why?"

"She was watching us?!"

* * *

Refridis had eventually found a guard to ask where breakfast was being held and they graciously led her to a balcony overlooking the falls. Gentle music was being played by elves and Gandalf, Elrond, Thorin, and Bilbo were already seated and eating when she walked in.

"Speaking of which, here she is! How are you feeling this morning," Elrond asked the Bosmer.

She gave him a small glare as she sat down next to her hobbit friend, "Good morning all of you. I'm feeling rather very well this morning, Lord Elrond though I think I would have been better should someone had warned me of where my path led."

"Ah yes, it's just that we spotted you a bit to late to give you warning, my apologize," the elf said, though she could sense a humorous undertone in his words.

Refridis side-eyed him as she turn towards Bilbo with a wide smile, "Good morning, Master Baggins!"

He returned her smile, "Morning! You know you can just call me Bilbo?"

"Yes yes, I know. I have some plans I want to do with you today," the wood elf said as Bilbo gave her a confused look, "Though I highly doubt you will master the sword in one day, I find it necessary that you should at least know how to use it correctly."

Bilbo was sputtering a reply when the rest of the company filed in, chatting and laughing. As they passed Refridis' gaze some of them winked at her making her cheeks warm slightly. She noticed that Kili walked by rather quickly and kept his head down, and Fili, noticing his brother's reaction, began to laugh.

Breakfast was served shortly after their arrival and when Refridis was crestfallen when she saw no meat. Though she had long given up the Green Pact of Valenwood, she stilled preferred meat to greens and ate very little.

She froze halfway through chewing a rather sweet vegetable when Balin asked, "So how did you survive and get back to us?"

All eyes were on her, one of them nervous, as she swallowed and asked, "I'm not sure what you all have heard from Kili. Why don't you tell me so I don't recount that part of the story?"

It surprised her when the normally shy Ori spoke up and said, " He told us that you let loose a giant fire spell that took down many of the Orcs and that both of you fought to the remaining Orcs. A warg bit you on the arm after you were distracted by the elven horns and you helped him to escape. He said that he saw you being dragged away."

Refridis subconsciously rubbed the arm that was bit and looked towards Kili who had finally looked up. She blinked her eyes and gave him a barely visible nod to show that she could work with the story. The raven-haired dwarf gave a notable slump of relief as she began to spin her tale.

"Yes, I would expect for him not to know anything pass that. I was considerably weakened after the fire spell and had very little magicka left. The pack was trying to outrun the elven riders who chased them and for that I thank Lord Elrond as he provided me an opportunity to escape. The Warg who carried me was shot on the hindquarters and let me go out of reflex. With my arm now free I used a smaller fire spell to the underside of its face, setting its fur on fire. I used the chaos of the battle to run for cover, as I did not dare run across the field where I might accidently be hit by a stray arrow or mistaken for the enemy.

The elves left shortly after and many of the Orcs laid dead on the field. My arm was bleeding rather heavily and I used the rest of my remaining magicka to try to heal the wound. It did very little so I made a poultice and used some cloth to make bandages and wrapped up my arm. I made to follow you all down the hole but as I walked passed one of the bodies of the Orcs, it rose suddenly and attacked me. I was quickly overpowered in my weakened state but I managed to slice his throat before he could kill me.

After that, I just followed the path and… here I am," she said finishing her story.

Refridis did not know how much they would believe though from the looks of it many of them had already began to accept her explanation and only a few were looking at her with scrutiny. One of them did not believe her at all, knowing the true reason of why she had survived but she would talk to him later to give him his explanation. She noticed that Ori was furiously scribbling in a little journal of his and decided to talk to him later about it.

"That's quite a tale miss Refridis, though I'm sure I can say for many of us that we are glad to have you back," Fili said, ending the silence that had taken over the balcony as even the elves who were playing music had stopped to hear the tale.

"Glad to be back, you all can't get rid of my that easily," she said with a smile as she rose her cup of wine to her lips.

Breakfast continued and Refridis found her appetite to be too great so she ate some more of her greens. She watched as the dwarves grumbled among each other, enjoying the breakfast as much as her. A haunting tune played from behind her as an elf blew into a flute and she found herself smiling, remembering the bards that often played at the inns and taverns she would visit for the night. She watched as Oin stuffed a napkin into his hearing trumpet and giving a smirk as he no longer heard the flute.

She heard Elrond was examining the weapons that they had found in the troll hoard.

"This is Orcrist," he explained as he held Thorin's sword, "the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well."

Refridis felt the hair on her neck stand up and she became slightly more cautious of the elves standing around them, _"So they are high elves…"_

"And this is Glamdring," Elrond continued, snapping her out of her thoughts, "the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age…"

The Bosmer felt the heavy weight of her own blades and brought them to their table, "And these?"

Elrond looked up at her as he took the blades, "the sister swords Aryante and Sildaraana, Daybringer and Gleaming-Moon, used to strike down a powerful and influential goblin chieftain. How did you come by these?"

"We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road," Gandalf answered, "shortly before we were ambushed by Orcs."

"And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" Elrond asked, suspicion once again returning.

Thorin excused himself from the table and walked out and Refridis sat back down in her seat. She watched as he walked away, deep in thought, and wondered to herself what was wrong.

"I wouldn't bother, laddie," she heard Balin say and turned to see that Bilbo was looking at his own blade, "Swords are named for the great deeds they do in war."

Bilbo looked at him, slightly offended, "What are you saying, my sword hasn't seen battle?"

"I'm not actually sure it is a sword; more of a letter opener, really," he responded, giving the hobbit a small smile.

"Letter opener or not, Bilbo needs to learn how to wield it effectively," the Bosmer said from Bilbo's other side, "That's why after breakfast we are going to be training."

"B-but your arm is still healing! What if you get hurt? What if I hurt you?" the Halfling asked, worried about the prospects of harming his friends.

"Ah I've had worse. You can't tell an attacker to stop fighting just because you have a little injury," she told him as she pushed away her plate.

Bilbo was about to respond when all of a sudden Nori shouted, "Change the tune would you? I feel like I'm at a funeral!"

"What?! Did somebody die?" Oin asked, not hearing well with the napkin in his hearing trumpet.

"Alright lads, there's only one thing for it!" Bofur said as he got up and stood on the table and began to sing,

_"There is an inn, a merry old inn  
beneath an old grey hill,  
And there they brew a beer so brown  
That the Man in the Moon himself came down  
one night to drink his fill._

_The ostler has a tipsy cat  
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;  
And up and down he saws his bow  
Now squeaking high, now purring low,  
now sawing in the middle._

_So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,  
a jig that would wake the dead:  
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,  
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:  
'It's after three!' he said._

While Refridis was at first amused at the dwarf's antics, she was quickly embarrassed by their food throwing and even gave Kili a sharp look when he threw something that nearly hit Lindir. Kili gave her a wide smile and she returned it with a breathy laugh and a small shake of her head.

* * *

Since the food was all over the floor, breakfast was quickly ended and she led Bilbo to a training field that the dwarfs had found. Most of them stuck around, having nothing better to do in the elvish town except to watch them.

Training the hobbit was not as easy as Refridis thought it would be, his low confidence heavily affecting his movements and strikes. She treated him like she would any other trainee that she taught in Skyrim, never giving him a break, making him repeat movements over and over again when she felt that they did not meet her standards. The dwarves were cheering on the Halfling but knew in the back of their minds that he probably had no chance of learning what took years of practice and experience.

When Bilbo was disarmed again for what she felt the dozenth time, Refridis gave a growl, "Again! And this time hold your sword like I taught you!"

"Maybe you should give him a break! He'll only get worse from here," someone shouted from the sidelines.

She looked at the panting hobbit before giving a sigh, "Fine, go sit down. But I am not giving up on you!"

Bilbo leaned against a pillar with a sigh of relief and slid down into sitting position, exhausted from the continuous exercises.

Refridis was sheathing the blade when she heard, "How about a little friendly competition?"

"I don't see why not," the Bosmer replied, intrigued that she might be fighting an actual opponent, "Who would like to go against me?"

"I do."

Refridis turned towards the voice and saw that it was Kili that had spoken. She was taken back slightly but agreed to the match.

The two circled around each other, blades glinting off the morning sun, before Kili made the first move and rushed her. She brought her blade up, stopping the hit and kicked her leg out in front of her, hitting him in the stomach and making him stumble back.

"You'll have to do better than that!" She said in a teasing tone.

Kili gave a growl and launched a series of attacks that she had some difficulties stopping. While she could defend herself with a blade very well, archery and long- ranged attacks were her strong suit.

It was at the end of the barrage, the two of them nearly face-to-face when Kili whispered, "You owe me an explanation."

"You want to do this now?" Refridis asked quietly as she jumped back slightly and let his blade hit the ground.

She swung at him, Kili easily sidestepping her, "Better now than later when you run off to avoid this conversation."

"Fine," the wood elf said as she made sure that her attacks stayed short-ranged so the others did not here them, "That fire spell that you saw on the field was called a Thu'um, a dragon shout, and the only people who are capable of making them are those who have trained for years to be able to do it and those who are Dovahkiin."

Kili ducked down to avoid nearly getting his head cut off and swung at her legs, Refridis easily jumping over the blade, "My guess is that you are the latter?"

"Yes, I am. Dovahkiin in common tongue means Dragonborn and those who have been blessed or cursed with the title are capable of using the power of dragons, but it always comes with a price," she continued dodging an attack that would have struck her bad arm, "the more a person uses the power, the less control they have of their draconic side because," she said kicking the back of Kili's knee making him fall to the ground and holding the tip of her blade at his throat, "we are dragons in blood and soul with the forms of mortals."

Kili had frozen up at the end of her explanation, a growing fear evident in his eyes. Refridis sheathed her blade and held a hand out to help him off the ground. He took it and used it to pull himself up.

"You are a dragon?" he whispered to her as some of the dwarves in the sidelines cheered and exchanged small pouches of coins with each other, having made bets on who would win.

"In all manners except physically and some what mentally. I cannot control myself while I am in that mindset, it is why I try to use Thu'ums as sparsely as possible," she said as they shook hands in a symbol of sportsmanship, "Do you see now why I try to hide this? If I told the company of my power, they would make me use the shouts whenever we are in trouble and there is no doubt that Thorin would strike me down where I stood if he found out that dragons were traveling with them. I could have killed you on that plain, be glad that Odahviing arrived when he did.

On another note," Refridis with a sly grin said as she began to walk away and acting like the conversation had never happened, "You should be shirtless more often."

With a wink, she left a very red and flustered Kili in the middle of the field, not knowing what to think with these two very different pieces of information.

* * *

Refridis spent the rest of the day in the library she had found and her way to the barrow, browsing through the books trying to find anything that was of interest and that she could actually read due to the language differences. She was halfway through a charming story about a man and his adventures in the wild when Elrond and Gandalf walked in. They did not see her immediately as she had settled herself on top of a bookshelf to insure that she would not be disturbed in her reading so she listened in to their conversation.

At first they spoke of Gandalf's strange traveling companions and she was almost tempted to ignore them and return to her reading but then Elrond said, "And the elf who claims to be a dragon?"

Gandalf shifted nervously, "I did not know about her powers when I first asked her to join us. I simply thought that she was an elf who had made a name for her self as a dragon slayer. She had a strange and powerful energy to her but never in all of my years would I have believed that we had a dragon walking among us."

"We do not know enough about her to be sure that she would be on our side if the worst is to happen. What if she is not a dragon slayer but rather is using this quest to find a dragon to use against others. How do we trust someone whose motive we do not know?" Elrond asked.

Refridis having enough of the conversation spoke down to them, "How about you ask her and she might tell you instead of speaking behind her back?"

The two of them looked at her as she jumped down from the high shelf and landed in front of them in a graceful movement.

She gave them an accusing glare and said, "It is rude to make inferences about a person without having all the information. I have not harmed any of my companions and I have not destroyed this town, despite the many chances I've had. I agreed to help kill the dragon and that is what I will do."

"You cannot blame us for not trusting the words of a dragon," Elrond responded, "They are masters of speech, capable of bending the truth to fit their needs and to poison minds with dangerous thoughts."

"And I agree with you but you must also remember that I am not a true dragon. I was born and raised as a mortal and I have been taught in their ways. The only danger I would pose to anyone would be if I was forced to use my powers and even then I would try to avoid doing that," she said, growing frustrated, "As for my motive, while it is none of your business, I am struck with a curse of undying with the only way to undo it is to wipe out all dragons from this miserable world that we live in."

Not waiting for a response, she walked away and went to her room, having learned the path after wandering around for a while after breakfast before she found the library again. She planned on staying locked away until the next evening when she would be needed in order to read the map but her stomach had other plans, obviously unfulfilled from that morning's meal.

With a groan she got up, mind set on finding the dwarves again as they probably would have found food that they actually liked using their resourcefulness. Remembering their joyful song at breakfast, she dug through her enchanted pouch and pulled out her lute.

To her surprise, there was no guard posted at her door when she left and with the ruckus that dwarves were making, she had no problem finding them. She turned the corner just in time to watch Bofur throw a sausage at Bombur and the table, which the ginger dwarf was sitting on, collapse under the weight.

"Mind if I join you all?" The Bosmer asked, laughing along with the dwarves at what just happened.

"Why of course! Though we expected you would have preferred the company of elves though seeing as they are your kin," Dori replied.

Refridis snorted as she sat down close to the fire and began playing a gentle song on her lute, tuning it when a note sounded wrong, "Quite the opposite. I want to get away from here as quickly as possible. They remind me too much of the High Elves of my home."

The company seemed taken back from her statement so she explained a little further, "Not all elves get along in Skyrim. The Altmer believe themselves to be superior to all other races in Tamriel and often take actions to prove it. It was not uncommon in the old days for a squadron of High Elves to march into Valenwood and slaughter an entire town of Wood Elves in order to remind others of their status. Plus, nearly all High Elves I've met are the snobbiest, self-centered people I know.

This is not to say that I've seen that behavior here. It is probably just old prejudices playing in my mind but the way that the elves here hold themselves reminds me too of them," she finished.

The dwarves nodded among themselves, some smiling at the fact that an elf would rather be with them then their kin.

"You have a lute," Fili said matter-of-factly, "do you know any songs?"

Refridis smiled, "I am unfamiliar with the songs here but I know many in my homeland."

"Why don't you play us one? I'm sure all of us would like to hear one," Bofur asked.

Refridis thought for a moment looking down at the instrument in her hand, thinking of what would be good to play. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Kili smoking a pipe and watching her expectedly.

"I feel as if this will be a rather fitting song for our journey," she said as she strummed the beginning notes,

"_Alduin's wings, they did darken the sky,_

_His roar fury's fire, and his scales sharpened scythes._

_Men ran and they cowered, and they fought and they died._

_They burned and they bled as they issued their cries._

_Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!_

_Ahrk fin norok paal graan fodnust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu drall!_

_We need saviors to free us from Alduin's rage,_

_Heroes on the field of this new war to wage._

_And if Alduin wins, man is gone from this world._

_Lost in the shadow of the black wings unfurled._

_But then came the Tongues on that terrible day._

_Steadfast as winter, they entered the fray._

_And all heard the music of Alduin's doom,_

_The sweet song of Skyrim, sky-shattering Thu'um_

_And so the Tongues freed us from Alduin's rage,_

_Gave the gift of the Voice, ushered in a new Age!_

_And if Alduin's eternal, then eternity's done_

_For his story is over and the dragon is gone."_

The dwarves clapped and cheered at the end and asked her to play some more. It was in this way that Refridis spent her time until the early hours in the morning when she excused herself to get some rest. She would need it for that evening's summoning.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this slightly fillery chapter and I promise that the pacing will pick up for the next one (oh the plans I have). Please review, favorite, and follow if you enjoy the story so far or if you have any questions or comments let me know! While I'm not sure that it's 100% accurate I took the names of Refridis' swords from this site: /Ifreann/Tynntangial/eng_ . ** **Also the version of the Tales of Tongues that Refridis' sings is from Malukah. I would give her a look because her covers of Skyrim's songs (and others) are absolutely beautiful! The Dovahzul used in the song is simply the first two lines of Dragonborn (or Skyrim's Main Theme).**

**I honestly wish I could tell you guys when the next chapter might come out but I don't want to give you all hope and then not deliver. My first semester ends near the end of November so updates might be more frequent but I promise to release at least one or two more chapters before then. Hope you all have fun and stay safe until the next chapter~**


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